Working Group on Yemen's accession to WTO meets in Geneva

GENEVA, Sep.22 (Saba)-
The eighth meeting of the Working Group on Yemen accession to the World Trade
Organization
(WTO) was held on Tuesday evening at the organization's headquarters in Geneva,
Switzerland.
The multilateral negotiations dealt with a number of topics on the completion of
the requirements of Yemen's accession to WTO, including rights of trading and
investment,
customs evaluation, technical barriers to trade, and intellectual property rights.
The meeting urged the organization's member states, which are still in bilateral
negotiations with Yemen to complete the negotiations as soon as possible, so as to
accelerate
Yemen's accession to WTO by the end of this year.
Minister of Industry and Trade, Head of Yemeni negotiating team, Yahya
al-Mutawakil, briefed head of the Working Group and the member states' delegates on
procedures taken
by Yemen to complete the accession's requirements, and respond to questions inquires
and comments raised by the members.
Al-Mutawakil reviewed the developments witnessed by Yemen recently, especially in
the economic and legislative aspects related to the accession, confirming the
government's
intent to complete the requirements of the accession to WTO in this year.
He looked forward for active support by the member states for Yemen's accession to
WTO in this year.
At the meeting, representatives of 18 member states in the WTO delivered speeches,
in which they all confirmed the support for Yemen's accession to the organization
in this
year.
Furthermore, Yemen negotiating team held a bilateral meeting with the U.S. to
review what has been done during the eighth meeting of the Working Group and to
agree on next
steps.
The team also held meetings with Honduras to end the bilateral negotiations on
entry of goods to markets and with Ukraine to discuss the request of Ukraine in the
field
of goods.