Opinions & Interviews

Belarus’ accession to WTO expected to facilitate UNDP projects

Alexandra Solovieva. An archive photo

MINSK, 28 November (BelTA) – Belarus’ accession to the World Trade Organization will open up new opportunities for implementing the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) projects, Alexandra Solovieva, Resident Representative of the UNDP in Belarus, told reporters on 28 November, BelTA has learned.

“It is a pivotal moment for the UNDP as we are drafting a new country program for 2021-2025. We asked all national partners to contribute their views on what projects are needed most in this period taking into consideration national priorities. The forthcoming accession to the WTO will open up new economic opportunities for Belarus, however Belarusian companies and industries will need some support in order to maximize the benefits of the WTO membership. We would like to focus on raising investments in Belarus, in particular, in the regions that badly need new jobs, points of growth and access to international and regional markets. We will build partnerships and implement new projects primarily in this field,” Alexandra Solovieva said.

She emphasized that the organization seeks not only to promote economic growth, but also social justice as well as green, low-carbon and circular economy. “This should be approached in a comprehensive way,” she noted.

At present accession to the World Trade Organization is one of foreign trade priorities for Belarus. Membership in the organization will help the country to ensure stable and predictable terms of trade with the international community and to offer foreign investors and manufacturers operating in Belarus commonly recognized rules of doing business. In recent years Belarus has made great strides towards the WTO membership. It is now negotiating its WTO accession commitments.

Minsk is hosting the WTO Weeks in Belarus 2019 event. A round-table session for the business community is held on 28 November to discuss Belarus’ accession to the WTO. Participants of the session, national experts and foreign trade specialists are discussing the most burning issues associated with the accession, the status and consequences of the WTO membership for companies and industries and the rules of operation in the WTO space.

The round-table session is part of the project "Assisting the Government of the Republic of Belarus in Accession to the World Trade Organization through Strengthening National Institutional Capacity and Expertise” funded by the Russian Federation and organized by the UNDP in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus.

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