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WTO ACCESSIONS  
2022 ANNUAL REPORT BY THE  DIRECTOR -GENERAL* 
 
 
 
 
  
 
* Unless  otherwise specified, this Annual Report takes account of confirmed accession -related 
developments from 1 January 202 2 to 31 December 202 2. This document has been prepared under the Secretariat's own 
responsibility and is without prejudice to the positions of Members or 
to their rights and obligations under the WTO.  WT/ACC/ 43 • WT/GC/ 257 
 
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  TABLE OF CONTENTS  
 
I. OVERVIEW 2022 AND OUTLOOK 2023  ................................ ..............................  3 
1. OVERVIEW OF ACTIVITIES IN 2022  ................................ ................................ .. 3 
2. OUTLOOK FOR 2023  ................................ ................................ ..........................  4 
II. DEVELOPMENTS IN 2022  ................................ ................................ ..................  6 
1. ACCESSION WORKING PARTIES: AN OVERVIEW OF ACTIVITIES  ......................  6 
2. WORKING PARTY CHAIRPERSONS  ................................ ................................ .... 7 
3. TRANSPARENCY IN THE ACCESSION PROCESS  ................................ .................  7 
4.  TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND OUTREACH  ................................ ........................  8 
III. STATE OF PLAY IN ACCESSION WORKING PARTIES  ................................ ........  12 
1. STRATEGIC FOCUS  ................................ ................................ ..........................  13 
2. WORK IN PROGRESS  ................................ ................................ .......................  13 
3. REACTIVATION  ................................ ................................ ...............................  14 
4. ACTIVATION  ................................ ................................ ................................ ... 14 
5. INACTIVE ................................ ................................ ................................ ........  14 
IV. TRADE FOR PEACE PROGRAMME  ................................ ................................ ..... 16 
1. PILLAR 1: POLITICAL ENGAGEMENT AND PARTNERSHIPS  ..............................  16 
2. PILLAR 2: PUBLIC DIALOGUE AND OUTREACH  ................................ ................  17 
3. PILLAR 3: RESEARCH  ................................ ................................ ......................  17 
4. PILLAR 4: TRAINING AND CAPACITY BUILDING  ................................ .............  17 
V. POST -ACCESSION  ................................ ................................ ...........................  18 
VI. TRADE AND ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE OF ARTICLE XII MEMBERS  ................  18 
ANNEX 1 – ACCESSIONS DIVISION WORK INDICATORS (2019 -2022)  ...........................  21 
ANNEX 2 - ACCESSIONS NEGOTIATED PURSUANT TO ARTICLE XII  ................................  22 
ANNEX 3 - WTO ACCESSIONS WORKING PARTY CHAIRPERSONS  ................................ ... 23 
ANNEX 4 – LENGTH OF TIME OF COMPLETED ACCESSIO NS ................................ ............  24 
ANNEX 5 – BASIC ECONOMIC PROFILES OF ACCEDING GOVERNMENTS AND  
ARTICLE XII MEMBERS  ................................ ................................ ................................ .. 25 
ANNEX 6 – DATA ON TRADE PERFORMANCE  ................................ ................................ ... 28 
ANNEX 7 – ACCESSIONS MANAGEMENT  ................................ ................................ .........  30 
ACCESSIONS STAFF DISPOSITION 2022  ................................ ................................ ........  30 
 
 
 
 
 
  WT/ACC/ 43 • WT/GC/ 257 
 
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 I. OVERVIEW 20 22 AND OUTLOOK 202 3 
1. OVERVIEW OF ACTIVITIES IN 2022  
1. This is my second Annual Report on WTO Accessions. I have been impressed by the active 
interest and engagement by a number of acceding governments in 2022, despite the multiple 
challenges they continued to face in managing their economies which were severe ly hit by higher 
food and energy prices caused by geopolitical tensions. The resumption of face -to-face contacts as 
a result of the gradual reduction of pandemic -related restrictions has enabled several accession 
processes to advance or resume after two ye ars of varied progress.  
2. The year started with the establishment of a new Working Party on the accession of 
Turkmenistan by the General Council on 23  February, bringing the total number of accessions to 24. 
Acceding governments were active at the 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) in June, with 19 of 
them represented at a level of Minister or senior officials from capitals. Many used their presence in 
Geneva to resume or advance bilateral contacts with Members and the Secretariat. Useful guidance 
was given b y Ministers on accessions in paragraph 6 of the Outcome Document:  
"We underscore the importance of accessions, noting that although no new accession has 
taken place since July 2016, several applicants have made encouraging progress. In this 
regard, we rema in committed to facilitate the conclusion of ongoing accessions, especially 
for least -developed countries fully in line with the General Council Guidelines on LDC 
Accessions, and to provide technical assistance, where appropriate, including in the post -
accession phase."  
3. The progress made in 2022 reflects the implementation of this guidance. Two LDCs, namely, 
Comoros  and Timor -Leste , were the most active among the on -going accessions and advanced their 
negotiations closer to the finish line. Building on the solid progress made in 2020 -21, both LDCs held 
two Working Party meetings – the 7th and 8th meetings1 for Comoros, and the 3rd and 4th meetings 
for Timor -Leste. Progress was registered on both the bilateral and multilateral tracks of negotiations. 
Comoros  concluded all bilateral market access negotiations,  and the Secretariat consolidated the 
deposited protocols into draft schedules of goods and services for verification. By January 2023, 
Timor -Leste signed bilateral market access protocols with four Membe rs and is advancing 
negotiations with six more Members. The multilateral discussions also advanced, reaching technical 
maturity in many chapters of the draft Reports of the respective Working Parties, as reflected in the 
number of draft commitment paragrap hs therein. In addition, I am encouraged by the recent 
indications from other LDCs, including Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan, that they are ready to resume 
their technical work soon.  
4. Good progress was also registered among the accessions of non -LDCs. In June,  Uzbekistan 
held the 5th meeting of the Working Party, based on a new set of updated negotiating inputs. In July, 
Iraq made a submission of eight documents in preparation for the formal reactivation of the Working 
Party since 2008. In December, Equatorial Guinea submitted the Memorandum of its Foreign Trade 
Regime (MFTR), nearly 15 years after the establishment of the Working Party. Azerbaijan was also 
active, holding technical sessions with the Secretariat and bilateral meetings with Members in 
preparation  for the resumption of the Working Party process since 2017. Furthermore, contacts were 
re-established with the Lebanese Republic and Libya to explore the resumption of their WTO -related 
agenda which had been disrupted for various reasons.  
5. In 2022, Workin g Party Chairpersons continued to play an important role in facilitating the 
accession processes. Working closely with the Secretariat, they set the direction of work in their 
respective Working Part ies, with their role particularly prominent in advanced accessions or in 
accessions which were being re -activated. In anticipation of the resumption of activities at the level 
of the Working Party, eight vacancies for chairmanships were opened by the end o f December for: 
Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Curaçao, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Iraq, Serbia and 
Uzbekistan . Under the delegated authority of the Chairperson of the General Council, Deputy 
Director -General Zhang Xiangchen has started consultation s with Members on these chairmanships, 
while taking into account the interest of the acceding governments.  
 
1 Due to scheduling difficulties for late 2022, the 8th meeting was held in January 2023.  WT/ACC/ 43 • WT/GC/ 257 
 
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  6. In my last report, I stressed the importance of technical assistance (TA) not only as a key 
input at each stage of the accession process, but also as  an important tool to bring together acceding 
governments, Members and partners to address the multiple needs of acceding governments. In 
this regard, I was pleased to note  the establishment of a new Coordination Group on 
Accessions -related T A, launched du ring the Aid for Trade Global Review  on 27 July. The goal of the 
Group is to enhance coordination among TA providers, which include bilateral, regional and 
international partners, aimed at increas ing the effectiveness of accession -related TA and capacity 
building for the benefit of acceding governments. Building on its intimate knowledge of the evolving 
needs of acceding governments, the Secretariat can play a  coordinating role, including through the 
organisation of or participation at TA Roundtables with p artners, as it was done for the accessions 
of Comoros, Timor -Leste, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan in 2022. In addition, the Secretariat 
delivered about 60 TA and outreach activities, including the 10th China Round Table on Accessions 
on 18 -20 January (virtua l) and the 2nd Regional Dialogue for Arab Accessions on 7 -9 February 
(virtual). Over 900  participants  took part in these TA and outreach activities.   
7. The Secretariat continued to attach great importance to transparency in WTO accessions. 
Efforts were made to provide timely information on new developments, through social media, 
especially between Working Party meetings to complement press releases and newsletters. In 2022, 
the Secretariat issued six newsletters (i.e. three each for the Accessions Newsletter and the Trade 
for Peace (T4P)  Newsletter , in May, September, December/January); 2 1 press releases ( 16 on 
accession s and five on T4P); and 326 tweets (192 on accession s and 134 on T4P). The Secretariat 
continued to service the Informal Group of Acceding Gov ernments, coordinated by Uzbekistan, which 
met on a regular basis, including at the level of senior officials during MC12. In addition, it organised 
a 3-hour briefing session for Members  in September,  covering the accession process and procedures, 
and the state of play in accessions.   
8. 2022 marked the fifth year since the launch of  the Trade for Peace initiative by the g7+ WTO 
Accessions Group. I note with satisfaction that the Trade for Peace Programme , formally launched 
in 2021, has successfully re -introduced peace and security into the convers ation on trade and 
multilateral cooperation. This became  particularly relevant in 2022 against the backdrop of increased 
fragility and conflicts in different par ts of the world. The Programme, through its four pillars, has 
brought closer together the trade, peace and humanitarian communities to explore how trade can 
play a role in building and sustaining peace in fragile and conflict -affected states (FCS). Innovat ive 
initiatives introduced in 2022 included the establishment of Trade for Peace Future Leaders, a 
dedicated platform for youth engagement in the trade and peace conversation , 30 September  (Pillar 
1: political engagement and partnerships) ; development of a  Trade for Peace Index with the Institute 
for Economics and Peace (Pillar 3: research) ; and the launch of a 14 -week Master's course on Trade 
for Peace at the Geneva Graduate Institute  21 September  (Pillar 4: training and capacity -building). 
Moreover, under  Pillar 2 (outreach and public dialogue), the 3rd Trade for Peace Week held from 
14 to 18 November discussed FCS, focusing on definitional issues and specific challenges and needs. 
The Trade for Peace Podcast ran for a second  season  in 2022 with 11 episode s featuring 17 guests. 
The year ended with the second meeting of the Trade for Peace Research and Knowledge Hub  on 
7 December , which  advance d the research agenda on the trade and peace nexus.  
2. OUTLOOK FOR 2023  
9. For the year ahead, the vision provided by MC12 shall guide our accession work, that is "to 
facilitate the conclusion of ongoing accessions, especially for LDCs" and " to provide technical 
assistance, where appropriate, including in the post -accession phase ." In this regard, I am pleased 
to note that work on the accessions of Comoros and Timor -Leste could be finalised in 2023, so that 
the respective accession packages can be presented to Members for adoption before or at MC13. 
The most recent meetings of the  respective Working Parties have narrowed down the list of 
outstanding issues, especially regarding the legislative actions required to achieve WTO conformity. 
In my meetings with Comorian President Azali Assoumani  and Timorese President José Ramos -Horta, 
I have been given assurances of their commitment to finalise domestic work in the coming months. 
For my part, I will ensure that the Secretariat's resources are fully mobilized for the goal of bringing 
the two LDC accessions to the finish line, in close co ordination with the Working Party Chairpersons. 
In parallel, the Secretariat will assist Comoros and Timor -Leste in the development of Post -Accession 
Strategies to prepare them for WTO membership , including the implementation of commitments. 
Welcoming new members into the Organization would not only fulfil the ministerial guidance, but 
would also reconfirm the relevance of the multilateral trading system, including its ability to take WT/ACC/ 43 • WT/GC/ 257 
 
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 account of the needs of the most vulnerable members of the international community, especially 
LDCs and FCS.  
10. I believe that several other accessions can advance substantively,  building on the technical 
progress registered in 2022. Following the recent announcement by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev 
of the plan to conclude major n egotiations in the accession process in 2023, I am optimistic that 
Uzbekistan will change gear and accelerate the pace of negotiations.  Resumptions of Working Party 
activity are  envisaged for Azerbaijan , as well as for Ethiopia, Iraq and Sudan, taking adva ntage of 
improved stability on the domestic front. The launch of the Working Party process can be expected 
for the accessions of Curaçao, Equatorial Guinea and Somalia once these acceding governments 
provide replies to questions on their MFTRs which were s ubmitted in 2020 -2022. The Secretariat 
also stands ready to provide assistance to Libya, Sao Tomé and Principe and Turkmenistan, which 
are all at various stages of preparing their MFTRs. Furthermore, it is hoped that the appointment of 
new Working Party ch airpersons early in the year could create new momentum in the accessions of 
Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, which are both technically advanced and linked together by 
their EU accession roadmaps.  
11. Technical assistance continues to play a critical part i n all accessions. With the easing of 
restrictions linked to the pandemic, the Secretariat plans to deliver more in -person TA and training 
activities, in Geneva or on the ground, to support acceding governments' efforts to start, resume or 
advance their res pective processes, in addition to the virtual mode of delivery which has by now 
proved its effectiveness and efficiency. These activities will be complemented by regionally focused 
experience -sharing dialogues , especially for Africa, the Arab region and Ce ntral Asia. In 2023, the 
4th Regional Dialogue on African accessions is planned in partnership with the United Nations 
Economic Commission for Africa. A study entitled "Best Practices in WTO Accessions for Arab 
Countries: Lessons from Past and On -going Acc essions"  is being prepared jointly by the WTO , the 
Arab Monetary Fund and the Islamic Development Bank, to be presented at the 3rd Regional Dialogue  
on Arab accessions  in October . The resumption of the WTO Central Asia Trade Policy Forum is also 
planned. Moreover, the Secretariat will continue to collaborate and cooperate with partners – 
bilateral, regional and international – through the Coordination Group of Accession -related TA , to 
help acceding governments maximise the benefits and effectiveness of TA.  
12. In response to the positive feedback received on the first briefing on WTO accessions for 
Members, the Secretariat plans to hold another  session  to support effective participati on in accession 
negotiations. While the Secretariat's technical assistance and training has targeted acceding 
governments, there is a growing realization that greater familiarisation by Members with the 
accession process and procedures , combined with trans parency, can increase the efficiency of 
accession negotiations, for the benefit of all. We will therefore continue to enhance and expand our 
transparency and communication tools, including through the greater use of social media, to keep 
the accession comm unity abreast of new developments. Finally, as part of o ur knowledge 
contribution , the Secretariat has finalised the second edition of the "Handbook on Accession s to the 
WTO"  which will be published by Cambridge University Press in 2023 . 
13. On the Trade for P eace front, in addition to the Secretariat  extending  support  to the g7+ WTO 
Accessions Group  in preparation for MC13 , I also expect concrete outputs in the research pillar  in 
the Trade for Peace Programme. These include, the Trade for Peace Index, the firs t publication on 
Trade for Peace , and two research projects focusing on trade policy instruments used during and 
post-conflict, and on the analysis of trade provisions in peace agreements. These projects are being 
undertaken with partners with expertise in  the peace field. I see that the empirical outputs are 
critical in building the case for the role of trade in building and sustaining peace, in particular, how 
trade policies and measures could be utilised to promote positive peace  in FCS . It is hoped that  the 
research outputs would be made available in time for  a high -level Trade for Peace Conference to be 
organised in the second half of the year.  
 
14. In conclusion, I would like to acknowledge the extraordinary efforts of Working Party 
Chairpersons in driving  and facilitating their accession dossiers . I shall continue to work closely with 
them, the acceding governments and WTO Members to take a step closer to the goal of universal 
membership.  
 
Ngozi Okonjo -Iweala  
WTO Director -General  WT/ACC/ 43 • WT/GC/ 257 
 
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  II. DEVELOPMENTS  IN 202 2 
1. ACCESSION WORKING PARTIES: AN OVERVIEW OF ACTIVITIES  
15. At the start of the year, 23 governments were in the process of WTO accession. With the 
establishment of the Working Party on the Accession of Turkmenistan by the General Council on 
23 February2, that number has increased to 24.  
16. In the year under review , four formal Working Party meetings were held.3 These were on the 
accessions of Timor -Leste ( third4 and fourth5 meeting s), Comoros (s eventh  meeting6) and 
Uzbekistan (fifth meeting7). In addition , the Chair person  of the Working Party on the Accession of 
Iraq held an informal consultation with Members .8  
17. Progress in the accession Working Parties was documented as follows:  
• A Memorandum on the Foreign Tr ade Regime (MFTR) was circulated to the Working Party 
on the Accession  of Equatorial Guinea9.  
• A revised Memorandum on the Foreign Trade Regime (MFTR) was circulated to the Working 
Party on the Accession of Iraq10. 
• A revised Factual Summary of Points Rais ed was prepared by the Secretariat for the 
Working Party on the Accession of Uzbekistan11. 
• An Elements of a draft Working Party Report12 and a draft Report of the Working Party 
were prepared by the Secretariat for the Working Party on the Accession of Timor -Leste13.  
• The d raft Report of the Working Party was revised twice by the Secretariat for the Working 
Party on the Accession of  Comoros14. 
• In addition, the Chairpersons of the Acce ssions of Comoros and Timor -Leste issued 
progress reports on the respective accessions15 to the 12th Ministerial Conference.   
18. In total, 69 accession documents were issued under document symbols WT/ACC, 
WT/ACC/SPEC and JOB/ACC series, for six Working Part ies (Comoros, Equatorial Guinea, Iraq, 
Timor -Leste , Turkmenistan  and Uzbekistan ) (see Annex 1).  
 
2 "WTO Members initiate Membership talks for Turkmenistan" : WTO | 2022 News items - WTO members 
initiate membership talks for Turkmenistan . 
3 The meetings included: the 3rd and 4th meetings for Timor -Leste on 29 April and 30 September, the 7th 
meeting for Comoros on 19 May, and the 5th meeting for Uzbekistan on 21 June.  
4 "Members commend Timor -Leste's proactive approach to advance WTO accession process" : WTO | 2022 
News items - Members commend Timor -Leste 's proactive approach to advance WTO accession process .  
5 "Working Party welcomes strong commitment by Timor -Leste to join WTO in 2023":  WTO | 2022 News 
items - Working Party welcomes strong commitment by Timor -Leste to join WTO in 2023 .  
6 "WTO accession for the  Comoros moves towards final stages":  WTO | 2022 News items - WTO accession 
for the Comoros moves towards final stages . 
7 "Uzbekistan reaffirms commitment to intensify WTO access ion efforts":  WTO | 2022 News items - 
Uzbekistan reaffirms commitment to intensify WTO accession efforts . 
8 On 5 September.  
9 WT/ACC/GNQ/3.  
10 WT/ACC/IRQ/10/Rev.1.  
11 JOB/ACC/UZB/Rev.1.  
12 WT/ACC/SPEC/TLS/4.  
13 WT/ACC/SPEC/TLS/5.  
14 WT/ACC/SPEC/COM/5/Rev.4 and WT/ACC/SPEC/COM/5/Rev.5.  
15 WT/ACC/COM/35 – WT/MIN(22)/1  and WT/ACC/TLS/22 – WT/MIN(22)/2 . WT/ACC/ 43 • WT/GC/ 257 
 
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 2. WORKING PARTY CHAIRPERSONS  
19. As of 31 December  2022, eight accession Working Part ies had Chairpersons  (see Annex 3).  
Of these, one was a woman .16 
20. On 20 September , a vacancy was issued for the chairmanship of the Working Party on the 
Accession of Azerbaijan.  On 22 December, vacancies were issue d for the chairmanships of the 
Working Parties of the Accessions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cura çao, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, 
Iraq, Serbia, and Uzbekistan. On behalf of the  Chairperson of the  General Council, Deputy 
Director -General Zhang Xiangchen will undertake consultation s on these chairmanships .   
21. In 202 2, Working Party Chairpersons remained actively engaged  and played a significant role 
in advancing the accession processes . They consulte d with Members and acceding governments in 
various formats and configurations, including virtually, and participated in outreach  activities  to 
improve technical and policy understanding on WTO accessions.   
22. The Chairperson of the Working Party on the Access ion of Timor -Leste , Ambassador Rui 
Macieira (Portugal) visited Dili on 11 -19 July17. During the visit, a number of activities were 
organized18, including: (i) bilateral meetings with government officials and the ASEAN Secretariat; 
(ii) High -Level Conferenc e on WTO/ASEAN Accession of Timor -Leste (12 July)19, and (iii) meetings 
with the civil society, private sector and development partners.   
3. TRANSPARENCY IN THE ACCESSION PROCESS  
23. Ensuring transparency and predictability in the accession process remains a key priority for 
the Secretariat and Members. Various transparency measures continued to be implemented in 202 2. 
i. Briefing on WTO Accessions to Members  
24. While the Secretariat did not hold regular meetings of the Informal Group on Accessions  (IGA) 
in 2022, it organised a briefing session on WTO Accessions to Members on 15 September. 
The briefing focused on : (i) the accession process and its procedures, including the multilateral and 
bilateral tracks ; and (ii) the state of play in ongoing accession  negotiations . 
ii. WTO Accessions Newsletter  
25. The Newsletter ensures transparency on accession matters, including recent developments, 
calendar of activities, and issues of interests to the accession community. It also aims to enhance 
communication with acc eding governments, Chairpersons, Members, partners and the broader trade 
policy community.  The Secretariat issued three WTO Accessions Newsletters , covering developments 
in the period under review,  in May , in September  and in January 2023 . The number of subscribers 
to the Newsletter at the end of 2022 was 1764 (excluding subscribers from the Secretariat), 
representing a 9.8% increase in relation to 2021.  In 202 2, a separate Trade for Peace (T4P) 
Newsletter  was launched . Three editions  of the T4P Newsletter were issued covering developments 
in the period under review, in May , in September  and in January 2023. These reported on the latest 
developments under the four pillars of the Trade for Peace Programme  (see Section IV) . 
 
16 More information on the selection process of accession Working Party Chairperson s can be found in 
Section 2.4 "Chairperson of Accession Working Party " of document WT/ACC/33/Rev.1 . 
17 See Chair's report on the visit in JOB/ACC/TLS/7 . 
18 "Working Party chair commends Timor -Leste's commitment to WTO accession on visit to Dili" : WTO | 
2022 News items - Working Party chair commends Timor -Leste 's commitment to WTO accession on visit to Dili .   
19 "High-level conference highlights synergies between Timor -Leste's WTO and ASEAN accessions":  WTO 
| 2022 News items  - High-level conference highlights synergies between Timor -Leste 's WTO and ASEAN 
accessions  WT/ACC/ 43 • WT/GC/ 257 
 
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  iii. Accessions Transparency Toolbox  
- WTO Accessions Intelligence Portal (AIP)  
26. The Accessions Intelligence Portal ( https://www.wto.org/accessions ) aims at enhanc ing 
transparency on WTO accession negotiations. The AIP provides access to documentation and data 
on the WTO  accession processes, including 36 completed and 2 4 ongoing accessions. The Portal is 
regularly updated based on documentation submitted by acceding governments and produced by 
the S ecretariat with respect to ongoing accessions.20 A new, more user -friendly layout of the AIP is 
under development, to be launched in 2023.  
- Accession Commitments Database (ACDB)  
27. The Accession Commitments Database ( http://acdb.wto.org ) provides access to all 
accession -specific commitments and related information contained in Accession Working Party 
Reports and Protocols of the 36  Article  XII Members. The ACDB is available to the general public in 
the three WTO official l anguages.  
- Register of Bilateral Market Access Agreements  
28. The Register of Bilateral Market Access Agreements contains basic information regarding 
signed bilateral market access agreements on goods and services that have been deposited with the 
Secretaria t. The Register lists the type of the agreement (goods; services; or both), and the dates 
of signature and deposit. The content of bilateral market access agreements remains confidential to 
the signatories and the Secretariat, which acts as the depository of the Agreements. Reports 
generated by the Register are available to WTO  Members via a password -protected access: 
https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/acc_e/xacc_e/register_e .htm. 
4.  TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND OUTREACH  
i. Technical assistance  
29. Technical assistance is critical to support the progress of accession negotiations, in particular 
for LDCs. One of the four key results of the Biennial Technical Assistance and Training Plan21 
(TA Plan) for 202 2-2023 focuses on the participation of acceding governments in accession 
negotiations. Based on lessons learnt from the implementation of technical assistance  in 2018 -2019 
and 2020 -2021, the Plan continues to prioritize the  needs of LDCs, revealing the scarce capacity in 
a number of these countries. The TA Plan 2022 -23 gives continuity to previous TA Plans, including 
supporting fully inclusive activities that respond to the needs of the weakest and most vulnerable 
beneficiar ies.  
30. As foreshadowed in the 2021 Annual Report by the Director -General on Accessions, the 
Coordination Group on Accessions -related Technical Assistance was launched on 27 July on the 
margins of the Global Aid for Trade Review.22 The newly launched Group s erves as a forum for 
development partners and acceding governments to exchange  information on WTO 
accession -specific needs and assistance on a periodic basis.  Its goal is to ensure that the evolving 
technical assistance needs of acceding governments are me t in a timely, coordinated and tailor -made 
manner, especially for least developed countries, both during accession as well as post -accession.  
Participation in the Group is open to multilateral, regional and bilateral development partners 
involved in provid ing technical assistance to acceding governments.  The first substantive meeting 
of the Group will be convened in the first half of 2023.  
 
20 While the AIP is open to the public, some parts of the website, including access to documents of ongoing 
accession  negotiations, remain password -protected and ar e only accessible to Members and acceding 
governments.  
21 The plan for 2022 -23 is contained in document WT/COMTD/W/2 60/Rev.1 . 
22 "Accessions -related Coordination Group launched at Aid for Trade Global Review" : WTO | 2022 News 
items - Accessions -related Coordination Group launched at Aid for Trade Global Review  WT/ACC/ 43 • WT/GC/ 257 
 
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 31. In 202 2, a number of technical assistance and capacity building activities were delivered 
involving all observers23. In line with COVID -19 related guidance  most of these activities were 
conducted virtually , while an increasing number of them took place in hybrid as well as in -person 
modes. The activities  included, inter alia , (i) technical sessions; (ii)  tailored national training sessions 
and seminars; (iii) missions; and  (iv) roundtables /dialogues . 
- National activities  
32. The Accessions Division, in collaboration with other Secretariat Divisions and/or other partner 
institutions,  delivered technical assistance and advice to the following acceding governments: 
Azerbaijan, Comoros,  Curaçao , Iraq, Sudan, Timor -Leste , Turkmenistan  and Uzbekistan : 
i. Azerbaijan : At the request of the Government , the Secretariat organised three sets of 
technical sessions in Geneva for visiting experts  from Baku , covering (i) trade facilitation, 
intellectual property, services, goods, subsidies, and TBT and SPS issues, on 27 -28 April; 
(ii) rules of origin, regional trade agreements, trade fa cilitation, customs valuation and 
WTO/ITC online market analysis tools, on 11 -13 July; and (iii) services and e -commerce on  
12-16 December. The Secretariat also undertook a mission to Baku on 30  June – 1 July 
where it delivered a presentation on the access ion process and the state -of-play in 
Azerbaijan's accession  at a workshop and held bilateral meetings with government officials 
in charge of accession negotiations.   
ii. Comoros : At the request of the Government, the Secretariat conducted two virtual 
activities:(i) a technical assistance  round table jointly organized by Comoros, the WTO and 
the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) on 13 January24; and (ii) a training 
on trade in services on 19 July. An experience -sharing session with former accession chief 
negotiators of Article XII Members  was organized on 18 November on post -accession ( as 
part of the 3rd Trade for Peace Week ). 
iii. Curaçao : At the request of the Government, the Secretariat held eight virtual training 
activities  on trade in services on 25 February , 18 and 25 March, 1, 22 and 29 April, 6 and 
13 May.  
iv. Iraq: At the request of the Government, the Secretariat organized two virtual technical 
sessions  on accession doc umentation  on 16 June and on 24 August.  
v. Sudan:  At the request of the Government, the Secretariat organized a virtual technical 
session/training  on state trading enterprises  on 7 November.  
vi. Timor -Leste : At the request of the Government, the Secretariat pro vided technical sessions 
and trainings, in a virtual or hybrid mode, on: (i) market access offer on services (7 -9, 15, 
16 and 18 March and 12 April), (ii) Joint Initiative on Services Domestic Regulation (2 June), 
(iii) customs valuation (18 July), (iv) TR IPS (18 July, with WIPO), (v) Information Technology 
Agreement (19 July), (vi) trading rights (19 July), (vii) post -accession (19 July,  with ITC), 
(viii) SPS (28 September) and (ix) STEs (25 November). Assistance on the preparation of 
the accession documen tation was provided throughout the year.  In addition, experience -
sharing sessions with former accession chief negotiators of Article XII Members were 
organized on 29 July (on ITA) and 18 November (as part of the 3rd Trade for Peace Week, 
on post -accession) . A technical assistance round table was organized on the margins of the 
third Working Party meeting on 29 April. During the Chairperson's visit to Dili ( see paragraph 
22), a technical assistance round table with development partners was held on  13 July.  
 
23 In total, over 900 participants took part in these activities .  
24 "Comoros discusses accession, post-accession technical assistance with development partners" : WTO | 
2022 News items - Comoros discusses accession, post -accession technical assistance with development partners  WT/ACC/ 43 • WT/GC/ 257 
 
- 10 - 
 
  vii. Turkmenistan:  At the request of the Government, the Secretariat conducted t wo virtual 
technical sessions  covering : (i) WTO accession process on 25 March (with UNECE);  and (ii) 
WTO accession negotiations on 25 April (with ITC). On 4-6 July, a WTO Secretariat mission 
led by DDG Xiangchen Zhang visit ed Ashgabat25 to: (i ) have bilateral meetings with 
government officials and development partners, (ii) launch the Work Programme on the 
Preparation of the Memorandum on the Foreign Trade Regime of Turkmenistan (MFTR); and 
(iii) participate in a Round Table on Technical Assistance with Development Partners. During 
this visit, the Secretariat also delivered a dedicated training on the MF TR, on 5 July.  
viii. Uzbekistan:  At the request of the Government, the Secretariat participated virtually at 
(i) a roundtable with the business community on "Challenges and opportunities of WTO 
accession of Uzbekistan for the private sector", jointly organised by the Ministry of 
Investments and Foreign Trade and the UNDP, on 1  December; and (iii) the first annual 
conference of the University of World Economy and Diplomacy's WTO Chair on "Uzbekistan's 
WTO accession: challenges and opportunities", on 5  December.   
- Global and regional activities  
33. The 10th China Round Table on WTO Accessions took place virtually on 18 -20 January . 
Celebrating the 10 -year anniversary of the China Programme, the event focused on LDC 
accessions .26 The Round Table was  attended by 150 participants , including by representatives of 
acceding governments, WTO Members, former and current accession Chief Negot iators, WP 
Chairpersons, and representatives of developments partners. The objectives of the event were to 
(i) celebrate the 10 years anniversary of the China Programme and (ii) reflect on LDCs accessions 
as well as ways in which the China Programme can co ntinue to assist them in their accession journey.  
Opened by the Director -General and the Minister of Commerce of China, the Round Table highlighted 
key achievements of the China Programme and discussed the future of LDC accessions, including 
greater focus on FCA countries and the Trade for Peace Programme. It also reviewed the accession 
outcomes and post -accession performance of the nine Article XII Members that joined the WTO as 
LDCs, based on a dedicated study prepared for the event. The study27 explored the impact of WTO 
accession on least developed countries and the best practices established for LDC accessions, based 
on the experience of the nine countries that joined the WTO as L DCs.28 The Round Table also  
provided a timely occasion to discuss  the futu re directions of the  China  Programme.   
34. The second High -Level Regional Dialogue for Arab accessions29 was organized virtually in 
collaboration with the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) and the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) on 
7-9 February.30 The Reg ional Dialogu e was attended by 80 senior officials from nine Arab states . 
The event , entitled "Adaptive Approaches to WTO Accession amid COVID -19", built on the previous 
dialogue, which included sessions related to the accession process – the difficulties faced, the 
experiences learned, and potential solutions to assist acceding governments. Specific objectives of 
the Dialogue included, inter alia: (i) increasing participants’ knowledge of the WTO accession 
process, accession -related rules, and the state -of-play of Arab  accessions; (ii) deepening discussions 
by focusing on specific topics of interest to acceding governments  (e.g. trade facilitation, trade in 
services); (iii) facilitating acceding governments to share experiences and lessons learned from the 
accession pro cess by engaging with the private sector in accessions negotiations; and (iv) discussing 
the role of the Trade for Peace Programme in enhancing Arab fragile and conflict affected (FCA) 
countries in accession to use trade as a vehicle for peace and stabilit y for their countries and for the 
region.  Opened by the President of Comoros and the Director -General, the Dialogue called for  an 
increase in joint efforts to support Arab acceding governments. Specific actions were agreed upon 
for the future WTO-AMF-IsDB collaboration, including a study on the accession and post -accession 
 
25 "DDG Zhang: Turkmenistan's WTO accession process, domestic reform are mutually beneficial" : WTO 
| 2022 News items - DDG Zhang: Turkmenistan 's WTO accession process, domestic r eform are mutually 
beneficial  
26 "Tenth China Round Table looks at impact of 10 years of China Programme on LDC accessions" : WTO | 
2022 News items - Tenth China Round Table looks at impact of 10 years of China Programme on LDC accessions  
27 The study is available here: ldcs_accession_study.pdf (wto.org)  
28 "New study looks at challenges and opportunities of LDC s' accession to WTO" : WTO | 2022 News items 
- New study looks at challenges and opportunities of LDCs ' accession to WTO  
29 "High -level dialogue takes stock of Arab countries' ongoing WTO accessions":   WTO | 2022 News items 
- High-level dialogue takes stock of Arab countries ' ongoi ng WTO accessions  
30 The report was circulated under WT/ACC/42.  WT/ACC/ 43 • WT/GC/ 257 
 
- 11 - 
 
 experience of Arab Article XII Members; the identification of country -specific accession needs; and 
a regional TA plan for Arab accessions.  
ii. Outreach  
35. The Secretariat continued to provide support to informal groups related to accessions, 
including the Informal Group of Acceding Governments (IGAG) and the g7+ WTO Accessions Group.  
- Informal Group of Acceding Governments (IGAG)  
36. The IGAG, compris ing 24 acceding  governments  and coordinated by Uzbekistan , held six 
meetings in 202 2, including at the level of Minister/Head of Delegation at MC12 .31 The Group 
discussed, among others: (i) accessions  state of play, technical assistance  and outreach activities; 
(ii) environmental  initiatives  at the WTO  (i.e., Trade and Environmental Sustainability, Plastics 
Pollution and Environmentally Sustainable Plastics Trade , and Fossil Fuel Subsidies Reform ); 
(iii) accessions  and MC12 outcomes, including on WTO reform; (iv) the Joint Initiative on Services 
Domestic Regulation; and (v)  government procurement . 
- g7+ WTO Accessions Group  
37. The g7+ WTO Accessions Group, which comprises nine fragile and conflict affected LDCs 
associ ated with WTO accession, held five meetings  in 202 2,32 including a meeting at  the ministerial 
level held on the margins of the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC12), on 12 June33. In 202 2, the 
Group focused on  the development of a Work Programme on Trade for Peace  for Fragile and Conflict -
Affected States (FCS),34 based on its Second Ministerial Declaration,35 and the preparation for 
consultations with Members on the said Programme in the WTO Committee on Trade and 
Development (CTD), including development o f a background paper on FCS, so that a decision could  
be taken on the Group's proposal at the 13th WTO Ministerial Conference  (MC13) . More information 
on the Trade for Peace Programme can be found in Section IV.  
iii.  China's LDCs  and Accessions Programme (The China Programme)  
38. The " China's  LDCs and Accessions Programme" (the China  Programme) was established by 
the Government of China and the WTO on 14  July 2011. An extension of the Memorandum of 
Understanding was signed on 8 Decemb er 202236. The China Programme is aimed at strengthening 
LDCs' participation in the WTO and at assisting acceding  governments  in joining the WTO. Out of 
the five pillars, the Accessions Division is responsible for the implementation of Pillar I " WTO 
Access ions Internship Programme"; and Pillar II " Annual China Round Tables on WTO Accessions".37   
39. Under the WTO Accessions Internship Programme (Pillar I), seven  interns worked in the 
Accessions Division in the year under review.38 Of the 43  interns that have participated in the 
Programme since its launch in 2011,  17 have been from LDCs and 26 from  non-LDCs.39 15 men and 
28 women have participated in the Programme . The breakdown of interns per region is presented  in 
Figure 1. 
 
31 In 202 2, the IGAG met on 18 February  (virtual) , 7 April  (hybrid ), 12 June  (hybrid , at the level of 
Minister/Head of Delegation at MC12 ), 26 July  (virtual ), 25 November (hybrid)  and 15 Decemb er (hybrid) .  
32 Held on: 11 May; 19 May; 12 June (Minister -level); 15 November (Ambassador -level); 14 December 
(co-coordinators level).   
33 "g7+ Accessions Group urges WTO to play active role in promoting peace" : WTO | 2022 News items - 
g7+ Accessions Group urges WTO to play active role in promoting peace  
34 See WTO document WT/GC/W/830.  
35 See WTO document WT/MIN(22)/23 . 
36 "China commits USD  500,000 to support WTO accession and least developed countries" : WTO | 2023 
News items - China commits USD 500,000 to support WTO accession and least developed countries  
37 More background and information on the five pillars can be found here: WTO | WTO accessions - China's 
LDCs and Accessions Programme .  
38 The 20 22 China WTO Accession s Internship Programme participants were from Afghanistan, Brazil, 
Ghana, Lebanon, Lao PDR, Sudan  and Viet Nam.   
39 An overview of former and current participants, including alumni stories, can be found here: WTO | 
WTO accessions - The China WTO accession internship programme .  WT/ACC/ 43 • WT/GC/ 257 
 
- 12 - 
 
  Figure 1: China Programme  interns by region (201 1-2022) 
 
 
III. STATE OF PLAY IN ACCESSION WORKING PARTIES  
40. Table 1 provides an overview of 2 4 accessions by the status of accession negotiations, as of 
31 December 2022 . A range of factors  remain ed in play  in accession negotiations.  Election cycles, 
domestic political dynamics,  reorganized government priorities , regional integration efforts, 
geopo litics and/or fragile and conflict -affected  situations had an impact on progress in many 
accession s. In 2022, good progress was registered in several accessions , especially of Comoros, 
Timor -Leste  and Uzbekistan  where the respective Working Parties held me etings . Technical progress 
was also made in  the accessions of Azerbaijan  and Iraq . This section provides the state of play on 
the ongoing accessions, as of December 20 22. More details of the state of play are provided and 
regularly updated in the Accessions Newsletter.  
Table 1: Current accessions  by general status  
General Status  Accession  
1. Strategic focus (2)  Comoros*, Timor -Leste*  
2. Work in progress ( 5) Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina,  Ethiopia*, Sudan*, Uzbekistan  
3. Reactivation (2)  Iraq, Lebanese Republic  
4. Activation ( 4) Curaçao, Equatorial Guinea, Somalia*, Turkmenistan  
5. Inactive (1 1) Algeria, Andorra , The Bahamas, Belarus , Bhutan*, Iran, Libya, Sao Tomé 
and Principe*, Serbia, South Sudan*,  Syrian Arab Republic  
* Least -Developed Countries ( LDCs) 
"Strategic focus" indicates accessions which could be concluded in 202 3, based on the level of technical 
advancement of the dossiers.  
"Work in progress" indicates technical advancement and regular exchange of information with WTO Members 
and the Secretariat.  
"Reactivation" indicates exchange of information with the Secretariat and/or WTO Members with the objective of 
early resu mption of activities at the level of the Working Party after a period of dormancy/inactivity.  
"Activation" indicates exchange of information with the Secretariat with the objective to begin the Working Party 
process.  
"Inactive" indicates no activities at the level of the Working Party for at least three years.  16
412
7
4
05101520Number of China Programme interns by 
region (2011 -2022)
Africa Arab & Middle East Asia CEECAC Latin AmericaWT/ACC/ 43 • WT/GC/ 257 
 
- 13 - 
 
 1. STRATEGIC FOCUS  
41. Comoros : Comoros applied for WTO accession in March 2007. The Working Party was 
established in October 2007 and held its first meeting in December 2016. The seventh  meeting was 
held on 19 May 2022. To date, seven bilateral market access agreements have been signed and 
deposited with the Secretariat. Technical work on the consolidation of the draft Goods and Services 
Schedules  has been completed . The draft Working Party Report is in its fourth revision , circulated in 
October  2022. The eighth  meeting  of the Working Pa rty40 took place on 19 January 2023.41  
42. Timor -Leste : Timor -Leste applied for WTO accession in November 2016. The  Working Party 
was established in December 2016 and held its first meeting in October 2020.  The third and fourth  
meeting s of the Working Party took place on  29 April and 30 September 2022, respec tively . As of 
the end of December 2022 , two bilateral market access agreements have been signed and deposited 
with the Secretariat, while bilateral negotiations are ongoing with eight interested Members. 
Multilateral negotiations are ongoing on the basis o f the draft Working Party Report circulated in 
August  2022. The fifth meeting is envisaged for the first quarter of 202 3, subject to the submission 
of required inputs .  
2. WORK IN PROGRESS  
43. Azerbaijan : Azerbaijan applied for WTO accession in June 1997. The Working Party was 
established in July 1997 and held its first meeting in 2002. The 14th meeting of the Working Party 
was held in July 2017. To date, four bilateral market access agreements have been signed and 
deposited with the Secretariat, while bila teral negotiations are ongoing with several interested 
Members. In preparation for the 15th meeting of the Working Party, the fourth revision of the draft 
Working Party Report was circulated in July 2021. The 15th meeting is envisaged for the first half of  
2023, once a new Working Party Chairperson is appointed . 
44. Bosnia and Herzegovina : Bosnia and Herzegovina applied for WTO accession in May 1999. 
The Working Party was established in July 1999 and held its first meeting in 2003. The  13th meeting 
of the Worki ng Party was held in February 2018. To date, 16 bilateral market access agreements 
have been signed and deposited with the Secretariat, while bilateral negotiation is outstanding with 
one Member.  Multilateral negotiations are underway on the basis of the e ighth revision of the draft 
Working Party Report circulated in October 2017. The 14th meeting will be convened  after the 
conclusion of the remaining bilateral market access negotiation.  No progress was registered in 2022.   
45. Ethiopia : Ethiopia applied for WT O accession in January 2003. The Working Party was 
established in February 2003 and held its first meeting in May 2008. At its fourth meeting of the 
Working Party held in January 2020 , the Working Party agreed to transform the Factual Summary 
of Points Rai sed to an Elements of the draft Report of the Working Party . Bilateral negotiations are 
ongoing with several interested Members. The fifth meeting will be convened subject to the 
submission of required negotiating inputs . No progress was registered in 2022.42 
46. Sudan : Sudan applied for WTO accession in October 1994. The Working Party was established 
in October 1994 and held its first meeting in 2003. After years of dormancy, the Working Party 
resumed its work in January 2017 and held the fou rth meeting in July 2017. To date, three bilateral 
market access agreements have been signed and deposited with the Secretariat, while bilateral 
market access negotiations are ongoing with several interested Members. At its fifth meeting held 
in July  2021,  the Working Party agreed to transform the Factual Summary of Points  Raised to an  
Elements of a draft Working Party Report. The sixth meeting will take place, following the submission 
of required negotiating inputs.  
47. Uzbekistan : Uzbekistan applied for WTO accession in December 1994. The Working Party was 
established in December 1994 and held its first meeting in 2002. After years of dormancy, the 
Working Party resumed its work at the fourth  meeting in Ju ly 2020 and held its fifth meeting in 
June 2022. Bilat eral negotiations are ongoing with several interested Members. In preparation for 
 
40 "Members commend Comoros' efforts to clear final hurdles on path to WTO accession by MC13" : WTO 
| 2023 News items - Members commend Comoros ' efforts to clear final hurdles on path to WTO accession by 
MC13  
41 Since January 2023, Comoros is in Category II administrative measures.  
42 Since January 2023, Ethiopia is in C ategory II administrative measures.  WT/ACC/ 43 • WT/GC/ 257 
 
- 14 - 
 
  the sixth meeting of the Working Party, a revised Factual Summary of Points Raised was circulated 
in November  2022. The sixth meeting is envisaged for the first quarter of 20 23 once a new 
Chairperson is appointed.  
3. REACTIVATION  
48. Iraq: Iraq applied for WTO accession in September 2004. The Working Party was established 
in December 2004 and held its first meeting in 2007. The second meeting of the Working Party was 
held in April 2008 and an informal meeting of the Working Party was held in  November 2017. 
In preparation for the third meeting of the Working Party, Iraq circulated an updated MFTR and 
seven other documents in June -July 2022. The third meeting will be convened following the 
submission of initial market access offers on goods and  services.  Iraq is subject to Category II 
administrative measures.43 
49. Lebanese Republic : The Lebanese Republic applied for WTO accession in January 1999. 
The Working Party was established in April 1999 and held its first meeting in 2002. The seventh 
meeting  of the Working Party was held in October 2009. In preparation for the eighth meeting of 
the Working Party, negotiating inputs as well as the second revision of the Draft Working Party 
Report, were circulated in April -June 2017. The eighth meeting will be convened subject to the 
submission of updated negotiating inputs to reflect changes introduced since 2017  and revised 
market access offers on goods and services.  No progress was registered in 2022.44  
4. ACTIVATION  
50. Curaçao : Curaçao applied for WTO accessio n in October 2019. The Working Party was 
established in March 2020.  The Memorandum on the Foreign Trade Regime was circulated in 
September 2021. The first meeting of the Working Party will be convened  following the submission 
of replies to questions raised by Members on the Memorandum.  No progress was registered in 2022.  
51. Equatorial Guinea : Equatorial Guinea applied for WTO accession in March 2007. The Working 
Party was established in February 2008. The Memorandum on Foreign Trade Regime was circulated 
in December 2022 . The first meeting of the Working Party will be convened following the submission 
of replies to questions raised by Members on the Memorandum.  
52. Somalia : Somalia applied for WTO accession in  November 2016. The Working Party was 
established in December 2016. In May 2020, the Memorandum on Foreign Trade Regime was 
circulated. The first meeting of the Working Party will be convened subject to the submission of 
replies to questions raised by Memb ers on the Memorandum . Somalia is subject to Category III 
administrative measures.45   
53. Turkmenistan : Turkmenistan applied for WTO accession in November 2021. The Working Party 
was established in February 2022. No Working Party meeting has been held to date . The 
Memorandum on the Foreign Trade Regime  is under preparation .  
5. INACTIVE  
54. Algeria : Algeria applied for WTO accession in June 1987. The Working Party was established 
in June 1987 and held its first meeting in 1998. The 12th meeting of the Working Party was held in 
March  2014. To date, six bilateral market access agreements have been signed and deposited with 
the Secretariat while several bilateral negotiations remain outstanding. The draft Working Party 
Report is in its thir d revision that was circulated in February  2014. The 13th meeting of the Working 
Party will be convened subject to the submission of required negotiating inputs.  No progress was 
registered in 2022.   
 
43 As of December 2022. Since January 2023, Iraq is in Category III administrative measures.  
44 Since January 2023, the Lebanese Republic is in Category II administrative measures.  
45 As of December 2022 . WT/ACC/ 43 • WT/GC/ 257 
 
- 15 - 
 
 55. Andorra : Andorra applied for WTO accession in July 1997. The Working Party was established  
in October 1997. The Working Party held its first and only meeting in October 1999. This accession 
process is inactive, and there are no indications of any intention to re -start the process.  
56. The Bahamas : The Bahamas appli ed for WTO accession in May 2001. The Working Party was 
established in July 2001  and held its first meeting in 2010. The fourth meeting of the Working Party 
was held in April 2019. To date, one bilateral market access agreement has been concluded  in 
princi ple, while bilateral negotiations are ongoing with several interested Members . On the 
multilateral level, the Working Party agreed to transform the Factual Summary of Points Raised into 
an Elements of a draft Working Party Report.  The fifth meeting will be convened subject to the 
submission of required negotiating inputs.  No progress was registered in 2022.  
57. Belarus : Belarus applied for WTO accession in September 1993. The Working Party was 
established in October 1993 and held its first meeting in 199 7. Following a period of inactivity, during 
which no formal Working Party meetings were held between 2005 and 2016, the Working Party 
resumed its work in January 2017. The 12th meeting took place in July 2019. The draft Working 
Party Report is in its fourt h revision.  To date, 16 bilateral market access agreements have been 
signed and deposited with the Secretariat , while bilateral negotiati ons are  ongoing with several 
interested Members . No progress was registered in 2022.   
58. Bhutan : Bhutan applied for WTO ac cession in September 1999. The Working Party was 
established in October 1999  and held its first meeting in 2004. The fourth meeting of the Working 
Party was held in January 2008. The first version of the draft Working Party Report was circulated 
in Decembe r 2007. The most recent market access offers on goods and services were circulated in 
November 2007. There has been no activity in the Working Party since the fourth meeting .  
59. Islamic Republic of Iran : The Islamic Republic of Iran applied for WTO accession in July  1996. 
The Working Party was established in May 2005. Following the circulation of the Memorandum on 
the Foreign Trade Regime in November  2009, Iran submitted technical inputs, including repli es to 
Members' questions on the Memorandum, in 2011. The first meeting of the Working Party will be 
convened, following consultations of the Chairperson of the General Council with Members on the 
designation of a Chairperson of the Working Party. The Islam ic Republic of Iran is subject to Category 
II administrative measures.46 
60. Libya : Libya applied for WTO accession in June 2004. The Working Party was established in 
September 2004. No Working Party meeting has been held to date as Libya has not submitted any  
inputs to initiate the process. Libya is subject to Category  III administrative measures.47 
61. Sao Tomé and Principe : Sao Tomé and Principe applied for WTO accession in February 2005. 
The Working Party was established in June 2005. No Working Party meeting h as been held to date  
as Sao Tomé and Principe has not submitted any inputs to initiate the process . Sao Tomé and 
Principe is subject to Category III administrative measures.48   
62. Serbia : Serbia applied for WTO accession in December 2004. The Working Party w as 
established in February 2005 and held its first meeting in 2005. The 13th meeting of the Working 
Party was held in June  2013. To date, 13 bilateral market access agreements have been signed and 
deposited with the Secretariat, while bilateral market acce ss negotiations remain with a limited 
number of Members. Multilateral negotiations are based on the seventh revision of the Draft Working 
Party Report circulated in October  2012. The  14th meeting will be convened subject to outstanding 
domestic legislative  action and the submission of required negotiating inputs.  No progress was 
registered in 2022.  
63. South Sudan : South Sudan applied for WTO accession in December 2017. The Working Party 
was established in December 2017 and held its first meeting in March 2019. The second meeting of 
the Working Party will be convened subject to the submission of required inputs . No progress was 
registered in 2022.49  
 
46 As of December  2022.  Since January 2023, Iran is in Category III administrative measures.  
47 As of December 2022. 
48 As of December 2022. 
49 Since January 2023, South Sudan is in Category II administrative measures.  WT/ACC/ 43 • WT/GC/ 257 
 
- 16 - 
 
  64. Syrian Arab Republic : The Syrian Arab Republic applied for WTO accession in October  2001. 
The Working Party was established in May 2010. No Working Party meeting has been held to date 
as the Syrian Arab Republic has not s ubmitted any negotiating inputs to initiate the process. 
The Syrian Arab Republic is subject to Category I II administrative measures.50 
65. Figure 2 provides  a snapshot of the state of play in accession negotiations , as of 
31 December  2022. 
Figure 2: State  of play in ongoing accession  negotiations   
 
IV. TRADE FOR PEACE PROGRAMME  
66. The Trade for Peace (T4P) Programme has been implemented through its four pillars: (1) 
Political Engagement and Partnerships; (2) Public Dialogue and Outreach; (3) Research; and (4) 
Training and Capacity Building.  
1. PILLAR 1: POLITICAL ENGAGEMENT AND PAR TNERSHIPS  
67. Since the launch of the T4P Network  in March 2021, the Secretariat continued  to collaborate 
with different partners under this pillar, while supporting the work of the g7+ WTO Accessions Group , 
coordinated by Liberia and Timor -Leste  (see paragraph 37). 
68. In 2022, a new initiative entitled "Trade for Peace Future Leaders" was launched during the 
2022 WTO Public Forum  in September51. The initiative seeks to: (i) raise awareness on the reality 
of youth involvement in conflict and on the role they can play in building peace through trade; 
(ii) provide a platform for youth voices undertaking peacebuilding efforts through trade; and (iii) 
foster creative -thinking and innovative solutions for trade and peace. It is implemented through two 
channels: (1) Dialogue an d (2) Action.52  
 
50 As of December  2022. 
51 "Public Forum Session h ighlights importance of youth engagement in trade and peacebuilding" : WTO | 
2022 News items - Public Forum session highlights importance of youth engagement in trade and peacebu ilding  
52 More details are available on the dedicated webpage: WTO | Accessions - Trade for peace - Pillar 1: 
Political Engagement and Partnerships  
WT/ACC/ 43 • WT/GC/ 257 
 
- 17 - 
 
 2. PILLAR 2: PUBLIC DIALOGUE AND OUTREACH  
69. In 2022, under Pillar 2, the Secretariat organized outreach activities which aimed at deepening 
the understanding of the trade -peace nexus. These activities included: (i) World Bank Fragility Forum  
- Trade for Peace: Addressing Fragility Through Economic Integration53 (15 March); (ii) Graduate 
Institute Summer Programme on the United Nations in a Changing World – Presentation on the WTO 
and Trade for Peace (7 July); (iii) Summer Program of Internati onal Organizations 2022 (SPIO), 
LEDECO & CUFE – Presentation on the WTO, Trade for Peace and the Role of China (19 July); (iv)  Aid 
for Trade Global Review 2022 – The Role of Trade in Addressing Climate -Induced Fragility (27 July); 
(v) 2022 WTO Public Forum  – The Missing Peace: Improving Youth Participation in Shaping an 
Inclusive Trade Future (30 September); (v i) 3rd edition of the Trade for Peace Week – Fragility and 
Conflict: Building Peace Through Trade and Economic Integration54 (14 to 18 November); and 
(vii) Special Session of T4P Week – Youth Engagement in Trade and Peace (18 November).  
70. In 2022, the T4P Podcast55 featured 14 episodes with 22 guests. As of 24 November 2022, 
episodes were downloaded 4127 times from listeners from 120 countries. Two seasons have been 
aired to date and the Youth Series has been launched this year as part of the T4P: Future Leaders 
initiative. A new segment was introduced in Season 2, called "rapid fire" which aims at getting to 
know the guest better, as requested by the audience.  
3. PILLAR 3: RESEARCH  
71. In 2022, under Pillar 3, several research works  have been in development, including:  (i) the 
T4P Index, (ii) the Publication and (iii) two research projects.  
72. The T4P Index, developed in collaboration with the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP),  
aims to shed light on the ways in which trade -related and peace -related indicators intera ct, to 
determine the conditions under which trade can help peace flourish and vice versa. Following a Call 
for Papers  issued in August 202156, 57 submissions were received for the first publication on Trade 
for Peace. In 2022, the selection process took pl ace and 12 submissions have been selected to 
proceed to the next stage . The publication is envisaged for February 2024. In addition, two research 
projects are under development looking at (i) the use of trade policy measures during and after 
conflict; and (ii) trade and economic provisions in peace negotiations and agreements.  
73. The Trade for Peace Research and Knowledge Hub held its second meeting57 on 7 December 
to discuss the state of play on the above research work. Experts from 10 institutions participated in 
the meeting.  
4. PILLAR 4: TRAINING AND CAPACITY BUILDING  
74. In September, a master's level course on Trade for Peace58 was launched as part of the Master 
in International Development Studies (MINT) at the Geneva Graduate Institute . The course, which 
is the first of this kind, consisted of 14 lectures delivered by 17 leading academics and practitioners 
working on trade, pe ace, development and humanitarian affairs. Twenty -six students from various 
disciplines  from the Graduate Institute were enrolled in the course. Discussion is underway with the 
Graduate Institute for the development of an executive training programme on Tr ade for Peace 
targeting senior officials from the trade, peace and humanitarian communities.  
 
53 "DDG  Zhang: trade for peace, one of the raisons d' être of the multilateral trading system" : WTO | 2022 
News items - DDG Zhang: trade for peace, one of the raisons d’être of the mul tilateral trading system   
54 "Trade for Peace Week looks at fragile and conflict -affected states' WTO integration" : WTO | 2022 News 
items - Trade for Peace Week looks at fragile a nd conflict -affected states’ WTO integration   
55 The podcast is available here: Trade for Peace | a podcast by Trade for Peace (podbean.com)  
56 "Call for papers issued for WTO Trade for Peace Programme":  WTO | 2021 News items - Call for papers 
issued for WTO Trade for Peace Programme   
57 "Trade for Peace Research and Knowledge Hub reviews latest research collaboration" : WTO | 2022 
News items - Trade for Peace Research and Knowledge Hub reviews latest research collaboration   
58 "First Interdisciplinary Master's Course on Trade for Peace successf ully concludes" : WTO | 2022 News 
items - First Interdisciplinary Master’s Course on Trade for Peace successfully concludes   WT/ACC/ 43 • WT/GC/ 257 
 
- 18 - 
 
  V. POST -ACCESSION  
75. The post-accession implementation support framework consists of five pillars:  
i. Country -Specific Post -Accession Implementation Strategy;  
ii. Specialized training and outreach on WTO post -accession;  
iii. Secretariat Note on "Best Practices on WTO Post -Accession" (document WT/ACC/27);  
iv. Dedicated webpage on "Post -accession — what next?" on the WTO website;59 
v. Internal Secretariat Note on Post -Accession Implementation and Monitoring.  
76. In 2022, the Secretariat continued monitoring the participation of Article XII Members in the 
work of the WTO and organized technical assistance and outreach sessions on post -accession (pillars 
ii and v). The 10th China Round Table on WTO Accessions, organized on 18 -20 January 2022, 
reviewed a study assessing the accession outcomes and post -accession performance of the nine 
countries that joined the WTO as LDCs: Nepal, Cambodia, Cabo Verde, Samoa, Vanuatu, Lao PDR, 
Yemen, Liberia and Afghanistan  (see paragraph 33). 
77. Representatives  of Article XII Members continued taking part in discussions in various 
accession -related TA and outreach activities,  including under the WTO Trade for Peace Programme,  
as reported under Sections II. 4 and IV, to share  their post -accession experiences and g ive advice to 
current acceders.    
VI. TRADE AND ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE OF ARTICLE XII MEMBERS  
78. This section provides an overview of recent developments in world trade, underlining the 
gradual global recovery from the COVID -19 pandemic and the specific perform ance of Article XII 
Members.60 Further, the section explores acceded Members' participation in global value chains 
(GVCs), as an indicator of their integration into the global economy and access to international  
markets.  
79. According to the World Trade Stati stical Review 202261, world merchandise trade volume 
rebounded by 9.7% in 2021 . The nominal value of world trade in goods and services increased by 
24% in 2021 and amounted to US$ 27.3 trillion : trade in goods grew by 27%  while trade in  
commercial  services  expanded by 16%.  Both trade in goods and services continued to grow at 
double -digits in nominal values in the first half of 2022 due to higher food and energy prices and 
more spending on travel and transport services. World merchan dise trade volume was predicted to 
grow 3.5% in 2022, followed by a more moderate 1.0% rise in 2023, as several shocks hit the global 
economy.62 
80. Article XII Members also showed signs of recovery from the pandemic in 2021. 
The merchandise trade of recently acceded governments increased by 30% reaching a nominal value 
of US $ 9.7 trillion, in a  faster pace if compared to the 27% increase in world  trade in goods . Trade 
in commercial services for Article XII Members recorded a significantly better performance th an the 
world average, having increased by 24% in 2021.63 
 
59 Available at WTO | WTO accessions - Post-accession – what next?   
60 The following Members joined the WTO pursuant to Art. XII of the Marrakesh Agreement (in order of 
accession): Ecuador, Bulgaria, M ongolia, Panama, Kyrgyz Republic, Latvia, Estonia, Jordan, Georgia, Albania, 
Oman, Croatia, Lithuania, Republic of Moldova, China, Chinese Taipei, Armenia, North Macedonia, Nepal, 
Cambodia, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Viet Nam, Tonga, Ukraine, Cabo Verde, Mon tenegro, Samoa, Russian 
Federation, Vanuatu, Lao PDR, Tajikistan, Yemen, Seychelles, Kazakhstan, Liberia, Afghanistan.  
61 Available at WTO | World Trade Statistical Review 202 2.  
62 "Trade growth to slow sharply in 2023 as global economy faces strong headwinds" :  WTO | 2022 Press 
Releases - Trade growth to slow sharply in 2023 as global economy faces strong headwinds - Press/909 . 
63 See also Annexes 5 and 6 to this  Report.  WT/ACC/ 43 • WT/GC/ 257 
 
- 19 - 
 
 81. Deep institutional and economic reforms enshrined in the WTO accession provid e governments 
with enhanced opportunities to  attract foreign direct investment  (FDI), achieve economic 
diversification and build resilience64, including through greater participation in GVCs , which account 
for over 50% of world merchandise trade65. In this context , the analysis of GVCs has been regarded 
as fully complementary to the analysis of FDI  and has been used to examine countries' participation 
in global production networks and identify further opportunities for investment .66 
82. Figure 3 shows a historical upward trend in the average GVC participation index of Article XII 
Members since the creation of WT O in 1995. The GVC participation index is measured as a sum of 
domestic value added of a country embedded in exports of other countries (forward GVC 
participation) and foreign value added embedded in the country's exports (backward GVC 
participation).67 Figure  4 focuses specifically on GVC participation of Article XII Members in the years 
before and after accession. It reveals that Article XII Members have gradually increased their 
participation in GVCs in years before accession, but they continued to in tegrate into the GVCs at a 
much faster pace after acceding to the WTO.  
Figure  3: Global value  chain  participation of Article XII Members over time  
(Billion dollars)  
 
Source:  Calculations using UNCTAD -Eora Global Value Chain Database . 
 
 
64 See previous Annual Report s by the Director -General on WTO Accessions (WT/ACC/ 36, WT/ACC/ 38, 
WT/ACC/ 40). 
65 WTO | The future of global value chains and the role of the WTO   
66 See Casella, B., R. Bolwijn, D. Moran and K. Kanemoto. Improving the analysis of global value chains: 
the UNCTAD -Eora Database. 2019. Transnational Corporations 26(3). New York and Geneva: United Nations . 
Available at: https://unctad.org/system/files/official -document/diaeia2019d3a5_ en.pdf . 
67 See methodology at UNCTAD -Eora Global Value Chain Database  (https://worldmrio.com/unctadgvc/ ), 
which includes  data until 201 8. 
WT/ACC/ 43 • WT/GC/ 257 
 
- 20 - 
 
  Figure 4: Global value chain participation before and after accession  
(Indices, WTO accession year = 100)  
 
Source:  Calculations using UNCTAD -Eora Global Value Chain Database . 
 
 
 
 WT/ACC/ 43 • WT/GC/ 257 
 
- 21 - ANNEX 1 – ACCESSIONS DIVISION WORK INDICATORS (201 9-2022) 
  2018  2019  2020  2021  2022  
Membership & Accessions    
New WTO member  0 0 0 0 0 
Acceding Government  21 22 23 23 24 
(New application)  0 -1 (1)+ (1) 0 
Active Accessions  16 14 16 16 13 
Accession -related Meetings & Missions    
WP meetings  5 4 4 3 4 
IGA 10 8 6 4 0 
IGAG  3 7 5 5 6 
Technical assistance & outreach  25 20 27 45 59* 
Trade for Peace Programme  - - - 30 48 
g7 plus WTO Accessions Group  - - - 16 5 
Missions  19 17 3 1 5 
Media coverage      Accessions  T4P Accessions  T4P Accessions  T4P 
Press Releases  - 12 15 5 11 10 16 5 
Tweets  - 100 243 - 169 158 192 134 
Document Ou tputs Accessions  T4P 
Newsletter  10 7 6 4 3 3 
Pages of acc. documents to WPs  2647 2106 1759 1645 1854 
* Counting methodology: all activities in 202 2 including specific sessions covering different  topics  
Source:  Accessions Division internal data.  
   
  WT/ACC/ 43 • WT/GC/ 257 
 
- 22 - ANNEX 2 - ACCESSIONS NEGOTIATED PURSUANT TO ARTICLE XII  
Government*  Membership 
Date  Working Party Report  Goods Schedule  Services 
Schedule  Protocol of Accession  General Council Decision  
1. Ecuador  21/01/1996  WT/L/77 & Corr.1  Add.1 & Corr.1, 2  Add.2  WT/ACC/ECU/6  WT/ACC/ECU/5  
2. Bulgaria  01/12/1996  WT/ACC/BGR/5 & Corr.1  Add.1  Add.2  WT/ACC/BGR/7  WT/ACC/BGR/6  
3. Mongolia  29/01/1997  WT/ACC/MNG /9 & Corr.1  Add.1 & Corr.1  Add.2  WT/ACC/MNG/11  WT/ACC/MNG/10  
4. Panama  06/09/1997  WT/ACC/PAN/19 & Corr.1  Add.1  Add.2  WT/ACC/PAN/21  WT/ACC/PAN/20  
5. Kyrgyz Republic  20/12/1998  WT/ACC/KGZ/26 & Corr.1  Add.1  Add.2  WT/ACC/KGZ/29  WT/ACC/KGZ/28  
6. Latvia  10/02/1999  WT/ACC/LVA/32  Add.1 & Corr.1  Add.2  WT/ACC/LVA/35  WT/ACC/LVA/34  
7. Estonia  13/11/1999  WT/ACC/EST/28  Add.1  Add.2 & Corr.1  WT/ACC/EST/30  WT/ACC/EST/29  
8. Jordan  11/04/2000  WT/ACC/JOR/33 & Corr.1  Add.1  Add.2  WT/ACC/JOR/35  WT/ACC/JOR/34  
9. Georgia  14/06/2000  WT/ACC/GEO/31  Add.1  Add.2  WT/ACC/GEO/33  WT/ACC/GEO/32  
10. Albania  08/09/2000  WT/ACC/ALB/51 & Corr.1  Add.1  Add.2 & Corr.1, 2  WT/ACC/ALB/53 & Corr.1  WT/ACC/ALB/52 & Corr.1  
11. Oman  09/11/2000  WT/ACC/OMN/26  Add.1  Add.2  WT/ACC/OMN/28  WT/ACC/OMN/27  
12. Croatia  30/11/2000  WT/ACC/HRV/59  Add.1  Add.2 & Corr.1, 2  WT/ACC/HRV/61  WT/ACC/HRV/60  
13. Lithuania  31/05/2001  WT/ACC/LTU/52  Add.1 & Corr.1  Add.2  WT/ACC/LTU/54  WT/ACC/LTU/53  
14. Moldova, Republic of  26/07/2001  WT/ACC/MOL/37 & Corr.1 -4 Add.1  Add.2  WT/ACC/MOL/40  WT/ACC/MOL/39  
15. China  11/12/2001  WT/ACC/CHN/49 & Corr.1  
WT/MIN(01)/3  Add.1  
Add.1  Add.2  
Add.2  WT/L/432  WT/L/432  
16. Chinese Taipei  01/01/2002  WT/ACC/TPKM/18  
WT/MIN(01)/4  Add.1  
Add.1  Add.2  
Add.2  WT/L/433  WT/L/433  
17. Armenia  05/02/2003  WT/ACC/ARM/23 & Corr.1  Add.1  Add.2  WT/L/506  WT/L/506  
18. North  Macedonia  04/04/2003  WT/ACC/807/27  Add.1  Add.2  WT/L/494  WT/L/494  
19. Nepal  23/04/2004  WT/ACC/NPL/16  Add.1  Add.2  WT/MIN(03)/19  WT/MIN(03)/19  
20. Cambodia  13/10/2004  WT/ACC/KHM/21  Add.1  Add.2  WT/MIN(03)/18  WT/MIN(03)/18  
21. Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of  11/12/2005  WT/ACC/SAU/61  Add.1  Add.2  WT/L/627  WT/L/627  
22. Viet Nam  11/01/2007  WT/ACC/VNM/48  Add.1  Add.2  WT/L/662  WT/L/662  
23. Tonga  27/07/2007  WT/ACC/TON/17  
WT/MIN(05)/4  Add.1  Add.2  WT/L/644  WT/L/644  
24. Ukraine  16/05/2008  WT/ACC/UKR/152  Add.1  Add.2  WT/L/718  WT/L/718  
25. Cabo Verde  23/07/2008  WT/ACC/CPV/30  Add.1  Add.2  WT/L/715  WT/L/715  
26. Montenegro  29/04/2012  WT/ACC/CGR/38  
WT/MIN(11)/7  Add.1  Add.2  WT/L/841  WT/MIN(11)/28  
WT/L/841  
27. Samoa  10/05/2012  WT/ACC/SAM/30  
WT/MIN(11)/1  Add.1  Add.2  WT/L/840  WT/MIN(11)/27  
WT/L/840  
28. Russian Federation  22/08/2012  WT/ACC/RUS/70  
WT/MIN(11)/2  Add.1  Add.2  WT/L/839  WT/MIN(11)/24  
WT/L/839  
29. Vanuatu  24/08/2012  WT/ACC/VUT/17  Add.1  Add.2  WT/L/862  WT/L/823  
30. Lao People's Democratic 
Republic  02/02/2013  WT/ACC/LAO/45  Add.1  Add.2  WT/L/865  WT/L/865  
31. Tajikistan  02/03/2013  WT/ACC/TJK/30  Add.1  Add.2  WT/L/872  WT/L/872  
32. Yemen  26/06/2014  WT/ACC/YEM/42  Add.1  Add.2  WT/MIN(13)/24  
WT/L/905  WT/MIN(13)/24  
WT/L/905  
33. Seychelles  26/04/2015  WT/ACC/SYC/64  Add.1  Add.2  WT/L/944  WT/L/944  
34. Kazakhstan  30/11/2015  WT/ACC/KAZ/93  Add.1  Add.2  WT/L/957  WT/L/957  
35. Liberia  14/07/2016  WT/ACC/LBR/23  Add.1  Add.2  WT/MIN(15)/38  
WT/L/973  WT/MIN(15)/38  
WT/L/973  
36. Afghanistan  29/07/2016  WT/ACC/AFG/36  Add.1  Add.2  WT/MIN(15)/39  
WT/L/974  WT/MIN(15)/39  
WT/L/974  
*  Sorted by date of membership.   
  WT/ACC/ 43 • WT/GC/ 257 
 
- 23 - ANNEX 3 - WTO ACCESSIONS WORKING PARTY CHAIRPERSONS  
As of 31 December 2022  
No. Government  Date Working Party 
established  WP Chairperson*  Geneva -based  
(Y/N)  
1.  Algeria  17 June 1987 H.E. Mr. José Luís CANCELA GÓMEZ (Uruguay)  Y 
2.  Andorra  22 October  1997 N.A.*  
3.  Azerbaijan  16 July 1997 Pending   
4.  The Bahamas  18 July 2001 H.E. Miss Cheryl K. SPENCER (Jamaica)  Y 
5.  Belarus  27 October  1993 Pending   
6.  Bhutan  6 October  1999 Pending   
7.  Bosnia and Herzegovina  15 July 1999 Pending    
8.  Comoros, Union of the  9 October  2007 H.E. Mr. Omar ZNIBER (Morocco)  Y 
9.  Curaçao  3 March 2020  Pending   
10.  Equatorial Guinea  5 February  2008 Pending   
11.  Ethiopia  10 February  2003 Pending   
12.  Iran 26 May 2005 Pending   
13.  Iraq 13 December  2004 Pending   
14.  Lebanese Republic  14 April 1999 Mr. Etienne OUDOT DE DAINVILLE  (France)  Y 
15.  Libya  27 July 2004 N.A.*  
16.  Sao Tomé and Principe  26 May 2005 N.A.*  
17.  Serbia  15 February  2005 Pending   
18.  Somalia  7 December 2016  H.E. Mr Mikael ANZÉN (Sweden)  Y 
19.  South Sudan  13 December 2017  H.E. Dr. Ahmed Ihab GAMALELDIN (Egypt)  Y 
20.  Sudan  25 October  1994 Mr. Naoki HIKOTA  (Japan)  Y 
21.  Syrian Arab Republic  4 May 2010 N.A.*  
22.  Timor -Leste  7 December 2016  H.E. Mr. Rui MACIEIRA (Portugal)  Y 
23.  Turkmenistan  23 February 2022  N.A.*   
24.  Uzbekistan  21 December  1994 Pending   
* The Chairperson is appointed after the circulation of a Memorandum on the Foreign Trade Regime by the acceding government.WT/ACC/ 43 • WT/GC/ 257 
 
- 24 - 
 
  ANNEX 4 – LENGTH OF TIME OF COMPLETED ACCESSIONS  
No. Article XII Member  Date of  
WP Establishment  Date of 
Membership  Total Time of 
Accession Process  
1.  Ecuador  09/1992  01/1996  3 years 4 months  
2.  Bulgaria  11/1986  12/1996  10 years 1 month  
3.  Mongolia  10/1991  01/1997  5 years 3 months  
4.  Panama  10/1991  09/1997  5 years 11 months  
5.  Kyrgyz Republic  04/1996  12/1998  2 years 8 months  
6.  Latvia  12/1993  02/1999  5 years 2 months  
7.  Estonia  03/1994  11/1999  5 years 8 months  
8.  Jordan  01/1994  04/2000  6 years 3 months  
9.  Georgia  07/1996  06/2000  3 years 11 months  
10.  Albania  12/1992  09/2000  7 years 9 months  
11.  Oman  06/1996  11/2000  4 years 5 months  
12.  Croatia  10/1993  11/2000  7 years 1 month  
13.  Lithuania  02/1994  05/2001  7 years 3 months  
14.  Moldova, Republic of  12/1993  07/2001  7 years 7 months  
15.  China  03/1987  12/2001  14 years 9 months  
16.  Chinese Taipei  09/1992  01/2002  9 years 4 months  
17.  Armenia  12/1993  02/2003  9 years 2 months  
18.  North Macedonia  12/1994  04/2003  8 years 4 months  
19.  Nepal*  06/1989  04/2004  14 years 10 months  
20.  Cambodia*  12/1994  10/2004  9 years 10 months  
21.  Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of  07/1993  12/2005  12 years 5 months  
22.  Viet Nam  01/1995  01/2007  12 years  
23.  Tonga  11/1995  07/2007  11 years 8 months  
24.  Ukraine  12/1993  05/2008  14 years 5 months  
25.  Cabo Verde*  07/2000  07/2008  8 years  
26.  Montenegro  02/2005  04/2012  7 years 2 months  
27.  Samoa*  07/1998  05/2012  13 years 10 months  
28.  Russian Federation  07/1993  08/2012  19 years 1 month  
29.  Vanuatu*  07/1995  08/2012  17 years 1 month  
30.  Lao PDR*  02/1998  02/2013  15 years  
31.  Tajikistan  07/2001  03/2013  11 years 8 months  
32.  Yemen*  07/2000  06/2014  13 years 11 months  
33.  Seychelles  07/1995  04/2015  19 years 9 months  
34.  Kazakhstan  02/1996  11/2015  19 years 9 months  
35.  Liberia*  12/2007  07/2016  8 years 7 months  
36.  Afghanistan*  12/2004  07/2016  11 years 7 months  
 
Overall Average  10 years 2 months  
LDCs Accessions  12 years 6 months  
Non-LDCs Accessions  9 years 4 months  
* LDCs. Cabo Verde , Samoa and Vanuatu acceded to the WTO as LDCs. They graduated from 
LDC status in 2007 , 2014,  and 2020, respectively.  
  
 WT/ACC/ 43 • WT/GC/ 257 
 
- 25 - ANNEX 5 – BASIC ECONOMIC PROFILES OF ACCEDING GOVERNMENTS AND ARTICLE XII MEMBERS  
Table 5-1: Acceding Governments  
Acceding 
Government  Population1 
(thousands)  GDP2 
(millions 
USD)  GDP per 
Capita3 
(USD)  Trade per 
capita3 
(USD)  Trade as % 
GDP3 Merchandise 
exports2 
(millions 
USD)  Merchandise 
imports2 
(millions 
USD)  Commercial 
services 
exports2 
(millions 
USD)  Commercial 
services 
imports2 
(millions 
USD)  
Algeria  44,177.97  164,564  3,668  913 24.9 36,700  36,000  2,974  6,405 
Andorra  79.03  No data available  
Azerbaijan  10,137.75  54,622  4,823  1,883  39.0 22,207  11,706  3,763  5,839  
The Bahamas  407.91  11,126  29,609  9,880  33.4 565 3,201  2,952  1,535  
Belarus  9,340.31  68,208  6,880  4,461  64.8 39,762  41,387  10,222  5,667  
Bhutan  771.61  2,397  3,249  1,3494 40.64 784 1 220  133 210 
Bosnia and 
Herzegovina  3,270.94  22,419  5,983  2,800  46.8 8,614  13,029  2,246  687 
Comoros, Union of 
the* 821.63  1,295  1,375  247 18.0 34 328 46 112 
Curaçao  152.37  No data available  302 1,206  788 413 
Equatorial Guinea  1,634.47  12,701  8,094  4,1755 41.85 5,700  1,900  5126 2,0096 
Ethiopia*  120,283.03  99,269  986 139 14.1 3,949  15,973  5,386  6,640  
Iran 87,923.43  1,426,300  11,966  752 6.3 71,646  48,978  5,605  10,560 
Iraq 43,533.59  209,507  5,090  1,561 30.7 86,298  66,217  4,023  13,142  
Lebanese Republic  5,592.63  27,3207 6,5154 3,0424 46.74 4,590  13,857  4,9317 4,7437 
Libya  6,735.28  32,352  4,568  3 3998 59.78 28,986  18,972  1679 6,0079 
Sao Tome and 
Principe*  223.11  520 2,183  534 24.5 21 166 38 47 
Serbia  6,834.33  63,068  8,087  4,470  55.3 25,564  33,797  9,199  7,433  
Somalia*  17,065.58  No data available  4159 1,5559 
South Sudan*  10,748.27  5,167  416 223 53.6 No data available  153 1,521 
Sudan*  45,657.20  35,151  775 167 21.6 4,279  9,238  1,838  1,305  
Syrian Arab 
Republic  21,324.37  60,04310 2,64211 86711 32.811 739 6,463  2,43412 2,81810 
Timor -Leste*  1,320.94  2,362  1,596  342 21.5 616 873 17 229 
Turkmenistan  6,341.85  63,428  9,342  No data available  9,212  4,026  No data available  
Uzbekistan  34,915.10  69,202  1,858  613 33.0 14,081  23,740  2,246  4,693  
 
   
  WT/ACC/ 43 • WT/GC/ 257 
 
- 26 - Table 5-2: Article XII Members  
Article XII Member  Population1 
(thousands)  GDP2 
(millions 
USD)  GDP per 
Capita2 
(USD)  Trade per 
capita3 
(USD)  Trade as % 
GDP3 Merchandise 
exports2 
(millions 
USD)  Merchandise 
imports2 
(millions 
USD)  Commercial 
services 
exports2 
(millions 
USD)  Commercial 
services 
imports2 
(millions 
USD)  
Afghanistan*  40,099.46  20,1367 5934 1364 23.04 1,037  5,574  5977 1,0427 
Albania  2,811.67  18,314  5,662  1,969  34.8 3,559  7,718  4,030  1,917  
Armenia  2,790.97  13,928  4,522  1,842  40.7 3,023  5,357  1,643  1,237  
Bulgaria  6,877.74  80,327  10,569  6,385  60.4 41,018  46,195  10,957  5,653  
Cabo Verde  587.92  1,947  3,375  1,545  45.8 54 800 248 209 
Cambodia*  16,589.02  26,187  1,666  1,512  90.8 17,362  28,369  648 2,088  
China  1,412,360.00  17,458,036  11,019  2,007  18.2 3,363,835  2,688,634  390,613  438,076  
Croatia  3,899.00  67,838  15,418  7,683  49.8 22,812  34,588  16,770  5,120  
Ecuador  17,797.74  106,166  5,969  1,442  24.2 26,699  25,687  2,003  4,471  
Estonia  1,330.93  36,287  24,577  18,345  74.6 21,518  23,609  9,883  8,215  
Georgia  3,708.61  18,696  4,657  2,431  52.2 4,242  10,105  2,464  1,763  
Jordan  11,148.28  45,354  4,372  1,686  38.6 9,357  21,613  4,245  4,025  
Kazakhstan  19,000.99  190,814  9,598  2,890  30.1 60,625  41,171  5,609  7,520  
Kyrgyz Republic  6,691.80  8,538  1,288  625 48.5 1,659  5,570  519 694 
Lao PDR*  7,425.06  18,552  2,560  945 36.9 7,695  6,275  125 252 
Latvia  1,884.49  38,965  18,685  11,538  61.7 20,823  24,447  5,661  3,601  
Liberia*  5,193.42  3,483  682 218 31.9 879 1,478  4 202 
Lithuania  2,800.84  65,479  21,087  15,616  74.1 40,828  44,585  15,158  8,981  
Moldova  2,615.20  13,672  4,704  1,986  42.2 3,144  7,177  1,603  1,144  
Mongolia  3,347.78  15,098  4,231  2,499  59.1 9,247  6,849  715 2,027  
Montenegro  619.21  5,813  8,650  4,339  50.2 515 2,956  1,792  742 
Nepal*  30,034.99  34,520  1,175  275 23.4 1,684  15,893  708 1,514  
North Macedonia  2,065.09  13,889  6,218  4,323  69.5 8,186  11,386  2,055 1,397 
Oman  4,520.47  83,656  17,018  7,9694 47.74 44,591  30,995  2,2237 8,3337 
Panama  4,351.27  63,605  14,380  5,657  39.3 13,161  20,596  10,678  4,199  
Russian Federation  143,449.29  1,775,548  11,300  2,789 24.7 493,820  303,994  55,652  74,708  
Samoa  218.76  788 4,113  1,517  36.9 29 368 69 89 
Saudi Arabia  35,950.40  833,541  22,357  6,281  28.1 276,179  152,850  9,702  62,046  
Seychelles  99.26 1,464  14,945  14,832  99.2 464 1,133  879 449 
Chinese Taipei  13 789,505  29,348  16,380  55.8 447,693  382,101  51,871  39,046  
Tajikistan  9,750.06  8,474  876 274 31.3 2,150  4,210  143 524  
 WT/ACC/ 43 • WT/GC/ 257 
 
- 27 - Article XII Member  Population1 
(thousands)  GDP2 
(millions 
USD)  GDP per 
Capita2 
(USD)  Trade per 
capita3 
(USD)  Trade as % 
GDP3 Merchandise 
exports2 
(millions 
USD)  Merchandise 
imports2 
(millions 
USD)  Commercial 
services 
exports2 
(millions 
USD)  Commercial 
services 
imports2 
(millions 
USD)  
Tonga  106.02  501 5,023  1,939  38.6 16 276 40 65 
Ukraine  43,792.86  198,316  4,087  1,713  41.9 68,075  72,527  18,309  13,345  
Vanuatu   319.14  950 3,172  1,5225 50.95 54 339 31 120 
Viet Nam  97,468.03  366,201  3,549  2,35914 100.014 335,929  331,582  3,498  19,215  
Yemen*  32,981.64  22,018  692 25415 18.515 662 5,204  2419 1,8489 
 Least Developed Countries ( LDCs)  
Source:  WTO Stats Portal (accessed  in January 2023) , unless otherwise indicated. For dates of Membership for Article XII Members, and dates of establishment of Working 
Parties for Acceding Governments, see Annexes 2 and 3, respectively . 
1 For the year 2021. Source: World Bank, Population: All Countries and Economies, available at https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL  (accessed in January 
2023).  
2 For 2021 unless otherwise indicated.  
3 For 2019 –2021 unless otherwise indicated.  
4 For 2018 –2020.  
5 For 2015–2017.  
6 For 2017.  
7 For 2020.  
8 For 2017 –2019.  
9 For 2019.  
10 For 2010.  
11 For 2008 –2010 
12 For 2011.  
13 No data available.  
14 For 2016 –2018.  
15 For 2014 –2016.   
  WT/ACC/ 43 • WT/GC/ 257 
 
- 28 - ANNEX 6 – DATA ON TRADE PERFORMANCE  
Table 6-1: Value of merchandise trade and annual pe rcentage change (1995 –2021) 
(Billion dollars and percentage)  
    1995  1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  
Article XII 
Members  Value  857 911 975 899 941 1,208  1,194  1,360  1,746  2,307  2,845  3,469  4,217  
Annual 
percentage 
change   6.2%  7.1%  -7.8%  4.6%  28.4%  -1.1%  13.9%  28.4%  32.1%  23.3%  21.9%  21.5%  
World  Value  10,453  10,953  11,331  11,186  11,646  13,102  12,603  13,157  15,362  18,696  21,296  24,500  28,301  
Year-on-year 
percentage 
change   4.8%  3.4%  -1.3%  4.1%  12.5%  -3.8%  4.4%  16.8%  21.7%  13.9%  15.1% 15.5%  
 
(Billion dollars and percentage)  
    2008  2009  2010  2011  2012  2013  2014  2015  2016  2017  2018  2019  2020  2021  
Article XII 
Members  Value  5,122  3,998  5,278  6,573 6,926 7,270 7,321 6,344 5,942 6,753 7,635 7,592 7,456  9,725  
Annual 
percentage 
change  21.5%  -21.9%  32.0%  24.6%  5.4% 5.0% 0.7% -13.3% -6.3%  13.6%  13.1% -0.6% -1.8%   
30.4%  
World  Value  32,66 7 25,28 1 30,74 1 36,775 37,17 1 37,929 38,065 33,29 1 32,242 35,718 39,368 38,352 35,527 44,915  
Year-on-year 
percentage 
change  15.4%  -22.6%  21.6%  19.6%  1.1%  2.0%  0.4%  -12.5%  -3.2% 10.8%  10.2% -2.6% -7.4%   
26.4%  
Source:  WTO Stats Portal (accessed in January 2023).  
   
 WT/ACC/ 43 • WT/GC/ 257 
 
- 29 - Table 6-2: Value of trade in commercial services* and annual percentage change (1995 –2021) 
(Billion dollars and percentage)  
    1995  1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  
Article XII 
Members  Value  155 168 189 177 179 200 210 237 274 349 411 488 639 
Annual 
percentage 
change   8.4% 12.5%  -6.3%  1.1% 11.7% 5.0% 12.9%  15.6% 27.4% 17.7%  18.8%  31.0%  
World  Value  2,369  2,536  2,629  2,653  2,784  2,955  2,975  3,159  3,644  4,396  5,179  5,846 6,973 
Year-on-year 
percentage 
change   7.0% 3.7%  0.9%  4.9%  6.1%  0.7%  6.2%  15.4%  20.6%  17.8%  12.9%  19.3% 
 
(Billion dollars and percentage)  
    2008  2009  2010  2011  2012  2013  2014  2015  2016  2017  2018  2019  2020  2021  
Article XII 
Members  Value  755 671 788 929 1,009  1,109  1,229  1,158  1,156 1,241 1,396 1,405 1,083 1,343  
Annual 
percentage 
change  18.1%  -11.0%  17.4%  17.8%  8.6%  10.0%  10.8%  -5.8%  -0.1% 7.3% 12.5%  0.7% -22.9%  
24.0%  
World  Value  7,868 7,046 7,676 8,623 8,905 9,442 10,210 9,739 9,863 10,710 11,745 12,147 9,924 11,533  
Year-on-year 
percentage 
change  12.8%  -10.4%  9.0% 12.3%  3.3%  6.0%  8.1%  -4.6%  1.3%  8.6% 9.7% 3.4% -18.3%  
16.2%  
* From 2005 onwards, the commercial services values are compiled using a new services classification in the balance of payments (BPM 6). Thus, figures are not directly 
comparable to those from earlier years.  
Source:  WTO Stats Portal (accessed in January 202 3). WT/ACC/ 43 • WT/GC/ 257 
 
- 30 - 
 
  ANNEX 7 – ACCESSIONS MANAGEMENT  
Accession Working Party Management - 2022 
Accession Working Party  Cod
e Secretary  Co-Secretary  Administrative 
Manager/ Support  
1. Algeria  DZA Tvarusko  Marchand  
Sisomphone  Tandara -Stenier  
2. Andorra  AND accessions@wto.org  - No Activity   
3. Azerbaijan  AZE Rasulov  
 Tvarusko  
Ahmadi  Tandara -Stenier  
4. Bahamas  BHS Tvarusko  Miashiro  
Sisomphone  Tandara -Stenier  
5. Belarus  BLR Bratanov  
 Tvarusko  
 Wardak  
6. Bhutan*  BTN Rasulov  Sisomphone  Tandara -Stenier  
7. Bosnia and Herzegovina  BIH Varyanik  
 Tvarusko  Tandara -Stenier  
8. Comoros*  COM Bratanov  Tvarusko  
 Tandara -Stenier  
9. Curaçao  CUW Bratanov  Marchand  
 Tandara -Stenier  
10. Equatorial Guinea  GNQ Perez -Esteve  Miashiro  Wardak  
11. Ethiopia*  ETH Tvarusko  
 Miashiro  
Sisomphone  Wardak  
12. Iran 
 IRN Varyanik  Ahmadi  Tandara -Stenier  
13. Iraq IRQ Hassan  
 Marchand  
Kabbara  Wardak  
14. Lebanese Republic  LBN Hassan  
 Marchand  
Kabbara  Tandara -Stenier  
15. Libya  LBY Bratanov  
 Ahmadi  
 Wardak  
16. Sao Tome et Principe*  
 STP Pérez -Esteve  Miashiro  Wardak  
17. Serbia  
 SRB Varyanik  Tvarusko  Tandara -Stenier  
18. Somalia*  SOM Perez -Esteve  Tvarusko  Wardak  
19. South Sudan*  SSD Perez -Esteve  Tvarusko  Wardak  
20. Sudan*  SDN Hassan  Marchand  
Kabbara  Tandara -Stenier  
21. Syrian Arab Republic  
 SYR Perez -Esteve  Kabbara  Wardak  
22. Timor -Leste*  
 TLS Varyanik  Miashiro  
 Wardak  
23. Turkmenistan  TKM Varyanik  Rasulov  
Ahmadi  Tandara -Stenier  
24. Uzbekistan  UZB Rasulov  
 Tvarusko  
Ahmadi  Tandara -Stenier  
* Least  developed countries (LDCs)  
ACCESSIONS STAFF DISPOSITION 20 22 
− Director;  
− Eight Professionals;  
− Two Administrative Managers; and  
− Four rotating interns under the WTO Accessions Internship Programme  
 
__________