RESTRICTED  
  
JOB/ACC/COM/15  
 
1 August  2023 
(23-5224) Page: 1/2 
Working Party on the Accession of the Union of the 
Comoros  Original: English  
 
ACCESSION OF THE UNION OF THE COMOROS  
GENERAL COUNCIL ITEM 11: BRIEFING ON THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN THE ACCESSION OF 
COMOROS – REQUEST FROM MOROCCO  
Statement by H.E. Ambassador Omar Zniber  (Morocco), Chairperson of the Working Party  
25 July 2023  
1. Thank you, Chair. I would like to brief the General Council on the latest developments in the 
Accession of Comoros in my capacity as Chair of the Working Party of the Accession of the Union of 
the C omoros.1  
2. Members  will recall that the Working Party was established in 2007. The Working Party held 
its 1st Meeting in 2016  and seven more meetings since then. I chaired the three most recent meetings 
since 2021, when I took over the Chairmanship from Ambassador Luis Enrique CHÁVEZ BASAGOITIA 
of Peru . During my time as Chairman, I have been consistently impressed by the determination, 
commitment, and hard work by the Government of Comoros to join the WTO.  
3. At the most recent 8 th Working Party Meeting , held on 19 January of this year,  WTO Members 
noted the substantial progress made by Comoros towards concluding WTO accession  - with many 
delegations expressing support for the completion of the accession process at MC13 . The Delegation 
of Comoros, led by Mini ster Ahmed Ali Bazi  - who was supposed to be with us during this session of 
the General Council, but unfortunately is not , due to agenda issues - conveyed Comoros' aspiration 
to conclude the negotiations in 2023 . Members were very supportive, although it w as understood 
that substantive work remained in certain areas.  
4. Less than 4 months later, on the 4 th of May, the Working Party reached a significant milestone. 
The draft Goods and Services Schedules, which contain Comoros'  future market access concessions 
and specific commitments , were verified by the Members  which had concluded bilateral market 
access negotiations with Comoros . These Schedules have now been "cleared " for formal adoption by 
the Working Party.2 This is a very significant development as two of the three key elements 
constituting Comoros' draft Accession Package are now ready. I would like to thank the Members 
involved, Comoros, and the Secretariat - which consolidated the bilateral agreements - for this 
important achievement.       
5. In parallel, work has progressed well on the third element of the Accession Package, which is 
the draft Report of the Working Party. While the Report is at a fairly advanced stage of technical 
maturity, a handful of issues remain relating to the conformity of Comoros' foreign trade regime 
with WTO rules. Work has been taking place bilaterally between Comoros and interested Members, 
focusing on the elaboration of specific legal ly-binding commitments and the integration of issue -
specific action plans in the Report. This important technical work is ongoing and is set to continue 
throughout the summer.  I understand that the bilateral engagement has been constructive and that 
deleg ations are now in a problem -solving mode , particularly these past few weeks . This is very 
encouraging. I hope that flexibility and pragmatism will continue to prevail.  Here, I would also like 
 
1 A Chair progress report on the accession of Comoros was circulated in preparation for MC12 in 
document WT/MIN(22)/1 . 
2 Documents WT/ACC/SPEC/COM/6/Rev.1  and WT/ACC/SPEC/COM/7/Rev.1 . JOB/ACC/COM/15  
 
- 2 - 
 
  to remind Comoros that some of the pending items will only be re solved through legislative 
amendments. In particular, Comoros still has work to do on its existing copyright legislation and on 
filling gaps in its legislative framework on customs valuation.  Mr. Bazi promised that all work in these 
fields will be achieved  as soon as possible, in any case before the end of the summer.  
6. It is important to recognize that, if we are to have this accession ready in time for MC13, 
all substantive work would need to be wrapped up very soon - bearing in mind that there are certain 
procedural steps for the Working Party to take before formally concluding its mandate. With this in 
mind, following consultations, I have determined that the Working Party should hold its 9th Meeting 
as soon as possible after the summer break, no later tha n in the week of 25 September.3   
7. To the extent possible, the goal of the 9th Meeting should be to complete all technical work , 
in particular with respect to commitment language for the draft R eport . Comoros has already 
submitted several documents4 requested by the Working Party and more will be issued in the coming 
weeks , as I underlined before . In particular, before the September meeting, the Secretariat will 
circulate an updated draft Report, together with Comoros' replies to questions . Thereafter, it is my 
hope to hold the final meeting of the Working Party before the end of the year to conclude its 
mandate. I hope, of course, before the last General Council meeting of the year. The draft Accession 
Package will then be transmitted to t he 13th Ministerial Conference for formal adoption. I believe 
that this goal is attainable, as long as Members and Comoros maintain their focus , as they promised .  
8. It is important to remember that, f rom the perspective of acceding governments , 
WTO membersh ip holds the promise of  greater  economic growth, higher living standards,  better 
jobs, and ultimately the promise of long -term stability and peace . This is particularly relevant for 
acceding LDCs. It is important that, for our part, as Members, we support the ambitions of vulnerable 
economies, such as Comoros, which have shown commitment to the values of the WTO and have 
clearly demonstrated willingness to adapt to its rules and principles. I  therefore call on Members to 
continue to engage constructively in  this LDC accession and to support Comoros in its efforts to 
achieve its objectives  - in line with the promise made by WTO Ministers in paragraph 6 of the MC12 
Outcome Document .  
9. I would like also to underline the very strong commitment and engagement of our Director -
General in this process. She spared no effort in trying to help us catch our goal in the weeks ahead. 
The D irector -General is in contact with the highest level of leadership in Comoros. The President of 
Comoros is also personally  involved. Like wise, here in Geneva we are doing our best to inform in 
detail all interested  delegations.  
10. To conclude, I have no doubt that Comoros, currently holding the Presidency of the African 
Union, will add a valuable voice to the multilateral tradin g system as a new Member  - knowing that 
WTO accessions are pending now for many years . It is for us time to take the right decision to give 
clearance.  
11. As Chairperson, I remain committed to doing all necessary work to finalise the mandate of the 
Working Pa rty by the end of this year - 16 years after its establishment. I remain available to respond 
to any questions Members may have on my report.   
12. I would also li ke to conclude by raising the role of my predecessor in this capacity , Ambassador 
Luis Enrique CH ÁVEZ BASAGOITIA of Peru, who did a lot. It is an occasion for me to salute him and 
to praise again the work that he has done .  
 
__________  
 
3 Chair communication to the Working Party of 10 July 2023. The week of 17 July had been initially 
proposed in the Chair communication to the Working Party of 24 May 2023.  
4 A revised legislative action plan ( WT/ACC/COM/9/Rev.8 ), revised acti on plans in specific issue areas 
(WT/ACC/COM/23/Rev.6 ), legislation and consultation documents ( WT/ACC/COM/39   and 40), and updated 
supporting tables on agriculture domestic support ( WT/ACC/SPEC/ COM/ 3/Rev.1 ).