FM Makei: WTO membership not an end in itself for Belarus
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Belarus will decide whether to join the World Trade Organization (WTO) after the negotiations, Minister for Foreign Affairs Uladzimir Makei announced on the state TV channel Belarus 1.
On 4 September, when he reported to President Alyaksandr Lukashenka on foreign trade and other issues, they also discussed the prospects of joining the WTO. Belarus has signed 8 protocols with different states in the past 18 months, Makei said. In general, Belarus has already signed 18 such protocols and still needs to conduct negotiations with eight states including the USA.
"However, joining the WTO is not an end in itself for Belarus, the state leader stressed,” BELTA quotes the Foreign Minister as saying.
The decision about joining the WTO will be made after the Belarusian authorities make sure that it will bring ‘economic dividends’, he added. Makei explained that a deviation from the trade rules including the WTO activities accepted in the past currently can be observed in the world. “The confrontation, deviation from the trade rules and strengthening of competition in various regions and markets are negatively affecting our export and foreign trade,” the Foreign Minister stressed.
