Ethiopia expressed its commitment to conclude negotiations to join World Trade Organization (WTO) before the upcoming Ministerial Conference MC14 in 2026.
According to the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ethiopia expects to become a member during the subsequent MC14.
The ministry announced Thursday that Ethiopia is participating in the biennial 13th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC13), which commenced today (Monday, 26th, 2024) in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and will run until February 29, 2024.
As a country working towards finalizing its negotiations and becoming a member of the international rule-based trading body, Ethiopia has dispatched high-level representatives to the conference, the ministry said.
The 13th WTO Ministerial Conference has been themed “Delivering for people through trade”. Over 7000 participants from various countries in attendance, MC13 aims to achieve agreements on crucial matters, foster collaboration for a more inclusive and prosperous global economy, advance tangible progress for all member states and developing nations, strengthen the WTO’s pivotal position in the trading system, focus on WTO reform, enhance living standards, generate employment opportunities, and prioritize sustainable development as key topics deliberated during the conference.
Comoros and Timor-Leste, which have been in negotiations to join the WTO since 2007 and 2016, respectively, officially became members of the organization during the MC13. This has reduced the number of countries awaiting WTO membership from 24 to 22.
The WTO Director-General, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, delivered the opening speech focusing on the role of the multilateral trading system for economic development and the necessity for the WTO reform agenda.
Ethiopia's high-level delegation will participate in numerous bilateral and multilateral discussions with trade ministers and leaders of WTO member countries during the conference.