(MENAFN- Qatar News Agency) Yemeni Minister of Industry and Trade Dr Saadaldeen Talib said his country would sign next Wednesday the protocol of its official accession to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), thus ending 13 years of negotiations.
Speaking to reporters here on Saturday Talib said, "Although Yemen accession has taken more than a decade to achieve, this is not to say that Yemen has reached the finishing line, but rather a new starting point for integration into the multilateral training system, global economy and most significantly a better future for the New Yemen." The accession signing ceremony would take place in Bali, Indonesia according to which Yemen would be the 160 member of the WTO and becomes the seventh least-developed country to join the multilateral trading system since 1995
Members of the Working Party on the Accession of Yemen agreed on 26 September 2013 the terms of WTO membership for Yemen
The accession package will be presented to the 9th Ministerial Conference in Bali, 3-6 December, for a formal decision by ministers
During the accession process, WTO members have worked with Yemen to adapt its trade laws to WTO rules and have trained its government officials
Members said they would continue to provide Yemen with required technical assistance in its post-accession process
Yemen has signed bilateral agreements on market access for goods and services with Australia, Canada, China, the European Union, El Salvador, Honduras, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Ukraine and the United States
For goods, Yemen has committed to bind its tariffs to an average of 21.1 per cent for all products 24.9 per cent on average for agricultural products and 20.5 per cent for other products
In services, Yemen is committed to opening its markets to 11 sectors, covering 78 sub-sectors
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.