Ethiopia prioritises WTO accession in economic reform programme

State Minister of Foreign Affairs Mesganu Arga, has stressed the importance of Ethiopia's accession to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) as a key component of the country's economic reform programme. In a meeting with Director of the WTO Accessions Division, Maika Oshikawa, the officials discussed ways to accelerate Ethiopia's accession process. This is reported by ENA.

Ambassador Mesganu reaffirmed Ethiopia's political commitment and readiness to join the WTO, emphasising the government's commitment to conclude technical negotiations as soon as possible.

He stressed that WTO membership is important for Ethiopia's economic reform agenda and outlined recent developments and decisions in trade and finance that support the accession process.

Ambassador Mesganu said Ethiopia's membership as a major economic player in Sub-Saharan Africa will enhance the credibility of the WTO. Maika Oshikawa reiterated the readiness of the WTO Secretariat to assist Ethiopia in accelerating the accession process by providing the necessary support for the technical work.

Discussions between the two officials focused on the detailed technical aspects of Ethiopia's accession process, signalling the country's determination to integrate into the global trading system.