Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea in Geneva

□ On 24 May 2024, Ambassador Seong Deok Yun, Chair of the WTO Working Party on Accession of Uzbekistan, presided the 9^th meeting of the Working Party on the Accession of Uzbekistan to the World Trade Organization (WTO), which took place from 5 December (Thursday) to 6 December (Friday).

     ㅇ Uzbekistan was represented by Deputy Prime Minister Jamshid Khodjayev, Special Representative and Chief Negotiator Azizbek Urunov, Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance Ahadbek Khaydarov and more than 50 other officials from key ministries, both in person in Geneva and by video from Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

    ㅇ During the meeting, Members completed the first review of the Draft Report of the Working Party and also reviewed Uzbekistan's legal developments since the eighth meeting of the Accession Working Party held in May. Members assessed Uzbekistan's efforts towards WTO accession and looked forward to the continuation of significant progress.

    ㅇ Ambassador Yun emphasized the need to further accelerate related work in the next seven to eight months in order to meet the goal of finalizing the accession process in 2026 set by Uzbekistan.

□ Meanwhile, Korea has been a strong supporter of Uzbekistan’s ambition to accede to the WTO as Korean Ambassdors to Geneva have been taking the Chair of the Working Party on the Accession of Uzbekistan since its second meeting. Also, in doing so, Korea has been actively engaging in securing the WTO multilateral trading system.

▷ Photo attached (Source: WTO website)