Kazakhstan To Join WTO in Early 2015

The World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Roberto Azevedo recently announced that Kazakhstan’s accession negotiations are in the final stage and that he expects the General Council to formally decide on Kazakhstan’s WTO accession in the beginning of 2015.

The United States recently expressed its support for Kazakhstan’s WTO membership and its plans to strengthen the economic cooperation between the two countries.

The EU’s direct investments in Kazakhstan from 1993-2013 were about USD 87 billion (EUR 71 billion). Kazakhstan’s main investors are the Netherlands, Great Britain, Italy and France. Last year the bilateral trade between Kazakhstan and the EU reached USD 53 billion (EUR 43 billion), which was more than 40 percent of Kazakhstan’s total trade turnover. In the first half of 2014, it exceeded USD 28 billion (EUR 23 billion), which is 45 percent of the country’s total trade turnover.

Kazakhstan has been working to join the WTO since 1996, but the negotiation process and the harmonization of laws took longer than initially projected.

Prepared by: Masa Lopicic

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Source: Reuters, The Astana Times