FORUM POST ACCESSION

 Maximising the benefits of WTO Membership: A BALANCE OF RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS

WTO Membership of Afghanistan and Liberia

19 July 2016, 8:00-9:00, KICC

background

Ministers at the Tenth WTO Ministerial Conference (MC10) in December 2015 in Nairobi formally approved the Protocols on the Accession of Afghanistan and Liberia.  They welcomed the two LDCs as the latest additions to the WTO family.  Nairobi was indeed a historic milestone for Afghanistan and Liberia, following their successful negotiations of the terms of accessions with WTO Members under challenging circumstances and capacity constraints. 

WTO Members have welcomed the Accession Packages of Afghanistan and Liberia as high quality, and praised the process and drive of these two LDCs as good examples on how to expedite WTO accession negotiations.  In substance, the Accession Packages signal their firm commitments to use the WTO membership to sustain their reform agenda for economic transformation, enhanced competitiveness, improvements to their business environment and sustained integration to the rules-based global economy.  Following the MC10, Afghanistan and Liberia have undergone their domestic ratification and are on track to become the 163rd and 164th Members of the WTO by UNCTAD14.

In the process of their accession, the Governments of Afghanistan and Liberia welcomed the support provided by bilateral development partners, multilateral and regional institutions.  WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo in formally initiating WTO Post-Accession in his 2014 Annual Report on Accessions underscored that support shall remain even more critical in the immediate period following membership.  This Post-Accession support shall be critical in ensuring that Afghanistan and Liberia maximise the benefits of WTO membership.  Strong partnership and coordination between Article XII LDCs and the international community will need to be sustained, including through an agreed follow-up mechanism. 

WTO/UNCTAD Post-accession forum

Seven months after the MC10, the international trade community will gather, again in Nairobi, this time for the UNCTAD14.  Nairobi can sustain the momentum in the trade and development agenda for Afghanistan and Liberia, this time, for their WTO membership in a Post-Accession Forum under the leadership of UNCTAD.

The Nairobi Post-Accession Forum will provide a platform for an exchange on the following topics:

• Post-Accession Implementation Strategy – Maximising the Benefits of WTO Membership: Presentations by Afghanistan and Liberia;
• Best practices on post-accession (e.g. institutional framework, coordination, notifications)
• Post-Accession support for Afghanistan and Liberia by development partners and multilateral institutions; and,
• Partnership and coordination mechanisms for Post-Accession.

programme

Background documents

• "Post-Accession Implementation Strategy – Post-Accessions Needs of Afghanistan", to be issued by the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
• "Post-Accession Implementation Strategy: Post-Accession Needs of Liberia" to be issued by the Government of the Republic of Liberia
• "Best Practices on WTO Post-Accession" to be issued by the WTO Secretariat.

focal points

The Post-Accession Forum is organised by the UNCTAD and the WTO.

UNCTAD

• Marina Murina, Associate Economic Affairs Officer, Division on International Trade in Goods and Services, and Commodities, tel: +41 22 917 59 05; e-mail: marina.murina@unctad.org

WTO

• Maika Oshikawa, Officer-in-Charge, Accessions Division, tel: +41 22 739 5643; e-mail: maika.oshikawa@wto.org; and,
• Mariam Soumaré, Accessions Division, tel: +41 22 739 6736; e-mail: Mariam.soumare@wto.org.