On February 23, 2022, in Geneva, where the Headquarters of the World Trade Organization is located, during the regular meeting of the WTO General Council, the application of Turkmenistan for entry into this Organization was considered.

After the discussion, the member states of the General Council unanimously approved this application and decided to grant Turkmenistan the status of an acceding country («active observer») in accordance with Article XII of the Marrakesh Agreement establishing the WTO. With the receipt of this status, in accordance with the rules of procedures of the Organization, a Working Group on Turkmenistan's accession to the WTO was also established.

As for direct interaction with the World Trade Organization, as is known, earlier, in accordance with the Decree of the leader of the nation, a special Government Commission was established, which is entrusted with studying issues related to our country's accession to the WTO and preparing relevant proposals.

The meeting was attended by the Permanent Representative of Turkmenistan to the UN Office in Geneva, who focused the attention of the audience on the key tasks of the country's Foreign Trade Strategy for 2021-2030. Among them are building up the production and export potential of the national economy, increasing the competitiveness of domestic goods in world markets, and further improving the business environment and investment climate.

The growing globalization trends in the modern world, especially in the light of the current situation caused by the pandemic and the challenges of the post-pandemic period, pose the task of more intensive integration into the system of international economic relations for our country. In order to effectively address it, Turkmenistan has stepped up its further steps within the framework of the Organization.

In this way, obtaining the status of an acceding country («active observer») to the WTO will contribute to the continuation of comprehensive work in this direction, strengthening the position of Turkmenistan in foreign trade, increasing its international authority as a reliable and responsible partner, attracting foreign investment and, in general, expanding constructive cooperation with the World Trade Organization.