RESTRICTED  
  
JOB/ACC/COM/11  
19 May 2022 
(22-3881) Page: 1/3 
Working Party on the Accession  
of the Union of the Comoros  Original:  French  
 
  
ACCESSION OF THE UNION OF THE COMOROS  
STATEMENT BY H.E. MR MZE ABDOU MOHAMED CHANFIOU,  
 
MINISTER OF THE ECONOMY RESPONSIBLE FOR TRADE   
 
AND CHIEF NEGOTIATOR  
7th Working Party  Meeting  on the Accession of the Union of the Comoros  
Geneva, 19 May 2022  
1. I am delighted to take part for the second time, with great interest and enthusiasm, in this 
7th Working Party  meeting , which is being held at a critical juncture in the Comoros' process of 
accession to the World Trade Organization . 
2. This meeting is taking place in an international context marked by shocks affecting the world 
economy in general and the economy of the Comoros in particular. Three successive exogenous 
shocks have had an impact o n our economic and social situation: Cyclone Kenneth in 2019, the 
COVID -19 pandemic in 2020, and the effects of the war in Ukraine, which increase the risk in terms 
of food security for our net importing country, which imports more than 60% of  its basic ne eds. 
3. Despite the impact of these shocks, our country has shown resilience through the measures 
taken by the Government to manage the health crisis and support the economic sectors that have 
been most affected and the most vulnerable segments of the populat ion, with the support of bilateral 
and multilateral partners . 
4. I would like to extend my sincere thanks for your encouraging and constructive presence, 
which will, as always, be the source of a rich and fruitful dialogue, with a view to marking the 
conclusi on of a round of negotiations, led in 2016 by His Excellency A zali ASSOUMANI, President of 
the Union of the Comoros, who has repeatedly expressed his desire to join the multilateral trading 
system, which he considers to be an important lever for the develo pment of our country . 
5. This political will has been backed by the Director -General of the WTO,  Dr Ngozi 
OKONJO -IWEALA, to whom I extend my warm thanks . 
6. I would also like to thank the Chair of the Working Party, His Excellency Omar  ZNIBER, 
Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco to the Office of the United Nations and other international 
organizations in Geneva . 
7. Under his leadership, thanks to his commitment, dedication and outstanding work on behalf 
of our country, the accession process has made remarkable prog ress, with bilateral negotiations 
being concluded with Japan, Brazil, Canada, the United States and the European Union, paving the 
way for  the Comoros' formal accession to the WTO, this year. I would like to take this opportunity 
to reiterate our thanks to all the countries and organizations that have concluded bilateral 
negotiations with our country . JOB/ACC/COM/11  
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  8. In this final step towards the conclusion of the work of the Working Party, the following results 
have been achieved by our country : 
1. The 6th Working Party meeting was held in September 2021 and a new ambitious 
agenda, which is being confirmed, has been defined ; 
2. A bilateral agreement wit h Canada has been signed ; 
3. Responses  to questions from the European Union, the United States and Thailand have 
been issued ;  
4. An agreement with the United States on the supply of services and goods was signed 
yesterday ; 
5. The supply of services with the Europe an Union is to be signed today, after this 
Working  Party meeting ; 
6. This 7th Working Party meeting  has been convened on the basis of documentary 
production preconditions . 
9. In accordance with the commitments made during previous negotiations, and in line with our 
action plan, the outcomes in terms of administrative and legislative measures are as follows : 
- Four (4) agreements and conventions have been signed ; 
- Seventeen (17) laws have been adopted and enacted ; 
- Seventeen (17) decrees have been issued by the Head o f State ; 
- Twenty -three (23) ministerial orders have been signed and published . 
10. The following more recent developments, which occurred before this 7th Working  Party 
meeting was convened, should also be noted : 
- An order on the timetable for dismantling other duties and taxes has been issued ; 
- An impact study has been conducted, in partnership with the World Bank, on the 
elimination of the exclusive right to import ordinary rice that was granted to the public 
company ONICOR ;  
- The Law on Foreign Trade, adopted by the National Assembly, has been enacted ; 
- The order repealing the order prohibiting the importation of corn ( Zea Mays ) has been 
signed . 
11. The progress made by the Comoros in the bilateral and multilateral negotiating tracks opens 
the way for the conclusion of our country's WTO accession negotiations through the adoption of a 
draft final report. The responses to the questions raised will significantly contribute to completing 
the final version of this report . 
12. Our country, via its most senior authorities, reiterated its firm commitment to join ing the 
multilateral trading system during a series of three virtual round table meetings : 
- The China Round Table ; 
- The Round Table for acceding Arab countries, opened by H.E. the President of the Union 
of the Comoros ; 
- The dedicated Round Table on the mobilization of post -accession technical assistance, 
co-chaired by the Comorian Minister of the Economy and the WTO Secretariat . 
13. In light of these positive results, I would like to request the members of the Working Party to 
adopt an expedited agenda for the next steps to be taken to ensure the formal accession of the 
Comoros to the WTO by the end of 2022. The accession event will be attended by H.E.  President 
AZALI  ASSOUMANI in person . 
14. I would like to convey a message of appreciation and sincere gratitude to our key partners in 
the accession process, in particular the Sultanate of Oman, the People's Republic of China, the 
Enhanced Integrated Framework, the World Bank and the WTO Secretariat. We thank th em for their 
assistance on this long road to accession . 
15. I also wish to commend the various departments of the Comorian administration and our 
diplomatic representation in Geneva for their outstanding work, which has enabled our country to 
reach this final stage of the WTO accession process . JOB/ACC/COM/11  
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  16. Lastly, I ask all the partners to support our country following its accession to the WTO, so that 
it can successfully overcome any obstacles to its integration into the world economy, enjoy the 
benefits of international trade and meet its development objectives .  
17. Thank you for your kind attention.  
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