Comoros joined the WTO (World Trade Organization) as its 165th member, after 17 years of negotiating its accession terms with WTO members. It is the 10th least-developed country (LDC) to accede to the WTO through negotiations. Comoros also announced its formal acceptance of the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies.
Comoros can use WTO accession as a vehicle for modernization, economic transformation and a complement to the country’s regional integration agenda on the African continent,” Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said. “Comoros’s membership will add a valuable voice to the multilateral trading system as it has shown commitment to the values of the WTO and has clearly demonstrated willingness to adapt to its rules and principles.”
WTO members officially approved the WTO accession of Comoros during a special ceremony at the 13th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC13) in Abu Dhabi on 26 February.
Twenty-three governments, including eight African countries, are still negotiating their WTO accession. Timor-Leste’s WTO membership is due to become effective on 30 August.
