Uzbekistan concluded bilateral negotiations with the Philippines on the accession to the World Trade Organization, the president’s special representative for WTO affairs Azizbek Urunov wrote on 1 December on LinkedIn.
The Philippines became the 22nd country with which Uzbekistan completed bilateral discussions on joining the organization. Urunov and the Philippines' WTO ambassador Teehankee Manuel signed the protocol during a meeting in Geneva. The ceremony was attended by WTO deputy director-general Zhang Xiangchen.
“I would like to thank one of the best ambassadors I know in Geneva for the engagement, support and jointly delivering it. Credits will go to the Uzbek-Philippines negotiations teams, we did it all together,” Urunov stated.
The Philippines became the fourth country that Uzbekistan concluded negotiations in the past two months, alongside El Salvador, the US and China.
During the European Economic Days in Uzbekistan in early November, Urunov highlighted that Uzbekistan still needed to finalize talks with Russia, the European Union, the UK, Switzerland and other nations.
In August, president Shavkat Mirziyoyev called WTO accession a “well-thought and far-sighted choice, as well as an integral part of reforms” during a meeting with entrepreneurs. He acknowledged that while Uzbekistan’s “economy needed protection to some extent in the past”, continuing on that path would limit the country’s opportunities.
Deputy prime minister Jamshid Khodjaev stated in May that Uzbekistan aimed to join the WTO before the 14th Ministerial Conference, scheduled to take place in Cameroon in 2026.
