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10 February 202 2 
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WTO ACCESSIONS  
2021 ANNUAL REPORT BY THE  DIRECTOR -GENERAL* 
 
 
 
 
  
 
* Unless  otherwise specified, this Annual Report takes account of confirmed accession -related 
developments from 1 January 2021  to 31 December 2021.  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/ 40 • WT/GC/ 243   
 
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  TABLE OF CONTENTS  
I. OVERVIEW 2021 AND OUTLOOK 2022  ................................ ................................ ..... 3 
II. DEVELOPMENTS IN 2021  ................................ ................................ .........................  6 
1. ACCESSI ON WORKING PARTIES: AN OVERVIEW OF ACTIVITIES .............................  6 
2. NEW APPLICATION  ................................ ................................ ................................ . 6 
3. WORKING PARTY CHAIRPERSONS  ................................ ................................ ..........  6 
4. TRANSPARENCY IN THE ACCESSION PROCESS  ................................ ........................  7 
5.  TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND OUTREACH  ................................ ...............................  8 
III. STATE OF PLAY IN ACCESSION WORKING PARTIES  ................................ ..............  12 
IV. TRADE FOR PEACE PROGRAMME  ................................ ................................ ............  16 
V.  THE ACCESSION OF LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES – ACHIEVEMENTS AND 
OUTLOOK  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..............  18 
1. INTRODUCTION  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..... 18 
2. OVERVIEW OF LDC ACCESSIONS  ................................ ................................ ...........  19 
3. LDC ACCESSION RESULTS TO DATE  ................................ ................................ ....... 20 
4. POST ACCESSION: PARTICIPATION OF ARTICLE XII LDCS IN THE WORK OF THE 
WTO  ................................ ................................ ................................ ......................  21 
5. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS  ................................ ...............................  23 
VI. POST -ACCESSION  ................................ ................................ ................................ .. 24 
VII.  TRADE AND ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE OF ARTICLE XII MEMBERS  .......................  24 
ANNEX 1 – ACCESSIONS DIVISION WORK INDICATORS (2018 -2021)  ...........................  29 
ANNEX 2 - ACCESSIONS NEGOTIATED PURSUANT TO ARTICLE XII  ................................  30 
ANNEX 3 - WTO ACCESSIONS WORKING PARTY CHAIRPERSON S ................................ ... 31 
ANNEX 4 – LENGTH OF TIME OF COMPLETED ACCESSIONS  ................................ ............  32 
ANNEX 5 – DATA ON LDC ACCESSION  ................................ ................................ ............  33 
ANNEX 6 – BASIC ECONOMIC PROFILES OF ACCEDING GOVERNMENTS AND ARTICLE  
XII MEMBERS  ................................ ................................ ...............................  38 
ANNEX 7 – DATA ON TRADE PERFORMANCE  ................................ ................................ ... 41 
ANNEX 8 – ACCESSIONS MANAGEMENT  ................................ ................................ .........  43 
 
 
  WT/ACC/ 40 • WT/GC/ 243 
 
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  I. OVERVIEW 20 21 AND OUTLOOK 202 2 
- Overview of activities in 2021  
1. I am delighted to present my first Annual Report on WTO Accessions as Director -General. 
In 2021, the world continued to encounter a high level of disruption s caused by the COVID -19 
pandemic.  Such disruptions , accompanied by continuous global economic uncertainty , have 
amplified the plethora of challenges  faced by the WTO and its Members , including most notably the 
postponement of the 12th Ministerial Conference  (MC12) . While acceding  governments  were 
confronte d by challenges on multiple fronts, many of them, including  the LDCs, did not lose sight of 
their objective to join the Organization. The trade for peace agenda gained further prominence  in 
this period as many active accessions continued  to face fragile and conflict affected situations.    
2. Among the 23 ongoing accessions, LDCs were the most active . Three LDCs accounted for all 
Working Party  meetings held in 2021: Comoros, Sudan and Timor -Leste. Comoros  inched  closer to 
the finalisation of its accession process at the 6th Working Party meeting  in September. 
Sudan  officially resumed its accession process after a fou r-year break at the 5th Working Party  
meeting  in July, preceded by an  informal meeting  held in March. Timor -Leste  continued moving at 
full speed by holding a 2nd Working Party meeting  in July, just nine months after the first meeting.  
The sustained progress registered by acceding LDCs makes  the thematic focus  of this year's Report 
– "The Accessions of LDCs – Achievements and Outlook" – particularly relevant and timely.   
3. Technical progress  was also registered in non-LDC accessions  in 2021 . Bosnia and 
Herzegovina, one of the most advanced accessions, made progress on outstanding legislation, but 
its adoption ultimately stalled due to  domestic turmoil. Azerbaijan  and Uzbekistan  worked 
intensively , including  with the Secretariat , and p repared the necessary documenta tion for active 
engagement with Members in 2022 . Curaçao - the latest accession applicant whose Working Party 
was established in March 2020  - prepared and circulated the initial documentary basis , which paved 
the way for the start of  the Working Party process in 2022. Furthermore, Iraq signalled the imminent 
subm ission of necessary documentation aimed at reactivating its accession process , which ha s been 
stalled since 2004.  
4. In 2021, we welcomed new Chairpersons for the Working Parties of The Bahamas, Comoros, 
Curaçao , Lebanon, South Sudan , Sudan and Uzbekistan. T hese new Chairs are from geographically 
diverse regions  and representative of the WTO membership. The Working Party Chairperson  plays a 
key role in the accession process . Working closely with the Secretariat, the Chairperson sets the 
tone and rhythm for the Working Party's work, mobilise s Members' support, especially technical 
assistance in case of LDCs, and assist s in the acceding government's domestic consultations as 
necessary. The Chairperson's role in the final phase is particular ly critical as all elements - political, 
technical and procedural - need to fall into place in a synchronised and timely manner.  
5. 2021 ended with a  new application for accession from Turkmenistan , which had previously 
been granted observer status in the General Council and its subsidiary bodies in July 2020 . Due to 
the postponement of MC12, the application will be placed on the agenda of the General Council at 
its first meeting in 2022.  If the application is positively considered, it would bring the total number 
of accession Working Par ties to 24, an increase of five since 2016 when the last member joined the 
Organisation. It is important to note that e ach application is a vote of confidence in the multilateral 
trading s ystem which continues to offer acceding governments an opportunity to lock in reforms, 
modernise and transform their econom ies, based on international ly agreed rules and best practices.   
6. Technical assistance  is not only a key input at each stage of the ac cession process, but also  
serves as an important  tool that brings together acceding governments, Members and partners  to 
address the multiple needs of acceding governments. In 2021, the Secretariat continued to deliver 
tailored -made training activities on a range of accession -related topics . The use of  virtual platforms 
resulted in almost doubling the number of activities from the previous year. Significantly, m any of 
the activities resulted in the submission of negotiating inputs by acceding governments  and 
contributed to substantive technical progress. In addition, global training activities, such as a 2-
week long specialised training course on Bilateral Market Access Negotiation s in Trade in Services , 
combin ing lectures and experience -sharin g sessions, b rought together all acceding governments to 
discuss challenges and best practices. Furthermore, we witnessed greater responsiveness from WTO 
members and partners to the demand s for technical assistance, especially from LDCs and fragile WT/ACC/ 40 • WT/GC/ 243   
 
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  conflic t-affected states (FCS) in accession. In this regard, the Secretariat often played a coordinating 
role which included, inter alia, the compilation of technical assistance needs (e.g. Iraq) and the 
organisation of Technical Assistance Roundtables with development partners (e.g. Comoros, Sudan 
and Timor -Leste). I would like to take this opportunity to express the Secretariat's appreciation to 
WTO members and all partners, especially the Asian Development Bank, IMF, ITC, UNCTAD, and the 
World Bank , for steppin g up accession support  in 2021.   
7. The Secretariat continued to invest time and resources to provide greater transparency in 
WTO accessions, through regular briefings to members and observers, press releases, newsletters 
and enhanced social media  engagement . In addition to provid ing periodic briefings to the Informal 
Group on Accessions (for Members) and the Informal Group of Acceding Governments (for observer 
governments) , the Secretariat also enhanced  its communications on accession -related news and 
activities . These included four newsletters (March, July, October and December) ; 23 press releases 
on accession; and 327 tweets  (including 158 on Trade for Peace ), to keep the accession community 
abreast of deve lopments  on a day -to-day basis . In addition, the Secretariat o rganised outreach 
activities aimed at increasing the understanding o f the benefits and opportunities provided by WTO 
accession and membership. Three anniversary events were organised in collaboration with 
Afghanista n and Liberia (to commemorate 5 years of membership) and China (20 years of 
membership ).  
8. One of the key feature s of accession work in 2021 was a sig nificant increase of interest in the 
Secretariat's work on Trade for Peace. Inspired by the vision presented by the g7+ WTO Accessions 
Group, a small group of FCS-LDCs which are committed to using WTO membership as an instrument 
to promote peace and securi ty, the Trade for Peace  initiative was transformed into a programme  
with the launch of a Trade for Peace  Network in March. Activities under the Trade for Peace  
Programme were implemented through four pillars , often in collaboration  with partners from the 
peace, humanitarian and development communities : (i) political engagement and partnerships; (ii) 
outreach and dialogue; (iii) research; and (iv) training and capacity building. Major outputs from the 
Programme included, inter alia, the launch of the Trade for Peace Podcast  which aired a total of 
16 episodes involving 27 guests ; the establishment of a Trade for Peace Research and Knowledge 
Hub, which issued a "call for papers " for a future Trade for Peace  publication; and the  organization 
of the second edition of the Trade for Peace Week  on "Trade, Peace and Security" with a focus on 
Eurasia.  
9. I have chosen LDC accessions as the  thematic focus  for my first Rep ort on WTO Accessions  
against the following background : first, this  year marks the 20th anniversary of the Doha Ministerial 
Conference in 200 1 where Ministers committed to accelerating the accession of least -developed 
countries, leading to the adoption of the LDC Acc ession Guidelines of 2002 ; and se cond, in the 
context of the upcoming 5th UN Conference on LDCs , the WTO has concrete deliverables  to report, 
that is the addition of six new LDCs to our membership since the 4th Conference held in 2011. 
The section, entitled  "The Accessions of Least Developed Countries – Achievements and Outlook" , is 
prepared on the basis of a study presented at  the 10th China Round Table held on 18 -20 January 
2022.  It provides (i) a review  of the nine LDC accessions concluded between 2004 and 2016 ; (ii) an 
examin ation of their post-accession performance , particularly their participation in different pillars 
of the WTO's work ; and (iii) a set of recommend ations on how to harness the accession p rocess to 
realise their developmental goals.  Let me also add that this Report provides, for the first time, an 
analysis of the impact of the COVID -19 pandemic on Article XII Members as part of the review of 
their trade and economic performance.   
- Outlook  for 202 2 
10. In my first meeting with the Informal Group of Acceding Governments in November 2021, 
I indicated my plan to devote some of my time this year to develop a Secretariat's work programme 
on accessions. I am concerned that not only no new accession has been concluded for more than 
five years, but that the average duration of ongoing accessions has reached almost 19 years, which 
is almost as twice as long compared to the 36 accessions completed to date. Each accession  is 
unique, and it is important for the Secretariat to understand and identify obstacles in each accession 
process. I hope that such a work programme can help the Secretariat to target and scale up its 
engagement and support for specific accessions , including through the intensification of  cooperation 
with partners  in certain  areas in accession , particularly in the context of broader economic reforms 
and/or the Trade for Peace Programme. I shall be assisted  by Deputy  Director -General  Zhang 
Xiangchen , the A ccession s Division,  and of course, Working Party Chairpersons and members.  WT/ACC/ 40 • WT/GC/ 243 
 
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  11. In terms of accession work for the year ahead, I believe that several accessions can advance 
substantively, building on the technical progress registered in 2021. The accession of Comoros, 
which is technically advanced, is expected to enter the final phase  of negotiations. In this regard, 
Comorian President Azali Assoumani has assured me that Comoros would carry out  all the necessary 
legislative work to conclude its accession by the end of 2022, while placing an emphasis  on technical 
assistance, including to prepare for post -accession. Depending on political developments at the 
domestic  front, the accession of Bosnia and Herzegovina could also cross the finishing line, as only 
a handful of issues remain to be  finalised. The Secretariat stands ready to assist the acceding 
governments and Working Party Chairpersons  in the finalisation  process . It is my fir m belief that 
welcoming  a new Member would not only bring the WTO closer to its stated universality goal, but 
also inject new energy and dynamism into the work of the Organisation.   
12. The accessions of Azerbaijan,  Curaçao, Timor -Leste and Uzbekistan are well positioned to 
make substantive progress by potentially holding more than one  Working Party  meeting in 2022, if 
they re main technically engaged and focused. In this regard, in addition to technical readiness , 
political will would determine  the pace of negotiations. Moreover,  depending on  domestic 
developments,  progress could also  be expected  in the accession of Iraq, build ing on the work started 
in 2021. The Secretariat remains committed to work with acceding governments, including Algeria, 
The Bahamas, Lebanon, Serbia, South Sudan and Somalia, which have indicated their interest to 
reactivate or stay engaged in their respective accession processes. Finally,  we look forward to the 
start of the accession of Turkmenistan, once its application is accepted by the WTO membership.  
13. Given the important role played by technical assistance and training, the Secretariat plans to 
step up its coordination role with Members and partners which provide various support to acceding 
governments. The plan includes the establishment of a TA coordination group to exchange 
information on accession -specific needs and assistance  on a periodic b asis. The aim of such a group 
would be  to ensure that the evolving TA needs of acceding governments are met in a timely, 
coordinated and tailor-made manner, building on the format of the TA Roundtables organised in 
2021. This coordination role could also s upport post -accession integration, especially for LDCs. 
Furthermore , the Secretariat will continue to provide experience -sharing platforms through the 
organisation of our flagship activities, including the China Round Table s and dialogues with the focus 
on strategic regions for accessions, among them Africa, the Arab region  and Eurasia.    
14. As always, transparency remains a central pillar in the Secretariat's work on accessions. 
We will continue to enhance and expand our transparency and communication tools,  especially on 
social media, to keep the accession community abreast of new developments. In addition, a modern 
and user -friendly accession portal will be launched to facilitate engagement with users. As our 
knowledge contribution to the international comm unity, we also plan to finalise two book projects  
for publication by Cambridge University Press, one entitled " Eurasian Perspectives on Trade and the 
WTO: Lessons from Accessions, Regional Integration and Economic Transformation ", and the other 
entitled " Handbook on Accession to the WTO ", which updates the 2008 edition to include a further 
ten accessions concluded since that yea r. 
 
15. On the Trade for Peace front, I would like to see 2022 as the year of consolidation of a fully -
fledged programme. A number of i nitiatives taken under the four pillars of the T4P Programme are 
expected to deliver more outputs and outcomes, with increased quality and visibility, especially in 
the areas of research, capacity building and training. These activities will culminate  in a high -level 
Trade for Peace Conference to bring together all stakeholders from the trade, peace, humanitarian 
and development communities in the latter part of the yea r. It is hoped that this Conference  - 
together with a first publication on Trade for Pe ace, which would bring together  the latest research 
and knowledge on the trade for peace nexus  - would provide new perspectives on how trade and 
the WTO could contribute to peace and stability, especially in FCS , in the contemporary fragile global 
environm ent.    
 
16. Lastly, I would like to acknowledge the extraordinary efforts made by acceding governments, 
WTO Members, Working Party Chairpersons, development partners and other stakeholders in 
advancing the accession agenda in these exceptional circumstances. I encourage you to persevere 
in your efforts in 2022.  
Ngozi Okonjo -Iweala  
WTO Director -Genera l WT/ACC/ 40 • WT/GC/ 243   
 
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  II. DEVELOPMENTS  IN 202 1 
1. ACCESSION WORKING PARTIES: AN OVERVIEW OF ACTIVITIES  
17. At the start of the year, 2 3 governments were in the process of WTO accession. 
These  negotiations were managed through various accession -related meetings and events in virtual, 
in-person or hybrid modes.  
18. In the year under review , three  formal Working Party meetings were held. These were on the 
accessions of Sudan  (fifth meeting),  Timor -Leste ( second meeting)  and Comoros (sixth meeting) .1  
19. Progress in the accession Working Parties was documented as follows:  
• A Memorand um on the Foreign Trade Regime (MFTR) w as circulated for the Working Part y 
on the Accession of Curaçao. 
• Factual Summaries of Points Raised were circulated and revised for the Working Parties 
on the Accession of Sudan, Timor -Leste and Uzbekistan.  
• Draft Reports of the Working Party were revised by the Secretariat for the Working Parties 
on the Accession of Azerbaijan  and Comoros.  
20. In total, 61 accession documents were issued under document symbols WT/ACC, 
WT/ACC/SPEC and JOB/ACC series, for three  Worki ng Part y meetings held in 2021 (Comoros, Sudan 
and Timor -Leste) and four Working Party meetings that could be  held in 2022  (Azerbaijan, Belarus, 
Curaçao and Uzbekistan)  (see Annex 1).  
2. NEW APPLICATION  
21. On 22 November 2021, Turkmenistan, which had been granted observer status in the WTO 
since July 2020, submitted an application for accession pursuant to Article XII of the Marrakesh 
Agreement establishing the WTO for consideration and action at the 12th Ministerial Conference 
(MC12 ) initially scheduled from 30 November to 3 December 2021 . Following the postponement of 
MC12, Turkmenistan requested that its application be considered for action by the General Council  
at its next regular meeting .   
3. WORKING PAR TY CHAIRPERSONS  
22. As of December  2021, fifteen  Working Part ies had Chairpersons , including vacancies on 
accessions at their initial stages, where no documentary basis for work existed (see Annex 3).  Of the 
fifteen  Chairpersons, thirteen  were Geneva -based and three  were women.2 
23. There were nine changes in the status of accession Working  Party Chairpersons during the 
period under review:  
• Appointments of new Chairpersons for seven  Accession Working Parties:  
o Ambassador Ahmed Ihab Gamaleldin (Egypt) for the Working Party o n the Accession 
of South  Sudan  in March;  
o Ambassador Omar Zniber (Mo rocco) for the  Working Party on the  Accession of 
Comoros  in March;  
 
1 The meetings were held on 26 July, 29 July, and 21 September, respectively. Due to the COVID -19 
pandemic, the meetings were held in hybrid mode (with in -person attendance and simultaneously on the 
Interprefy platform).  
2 More infor mation 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 . WT/ACC/ 40 • WT/GC/ 243 
 
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  o Ambassador Cheryl K. Spencer (Jamaica) for the Working Party o n the Accession of 
The Bahamas in April;   
o Ambassador Taeho Lee (Republic of Korea) for the Working Party o n the Accession 
of Uzbekistan in August ;  
o Ambassador Chad Blackman (Barbados)  for the Working Party on the Accession of 
Curaçao in November;  
o Mr. Etienne Oudot de Dainville (France)  for the Working Party on the Accession of 
the Lebanese Republic in November ;  
o Mr. Naoki Hikota (Japan) for the Working Party o n the Accession of  Sudan  in 
November .  
• The positions of Chairperson of the Working Parties on the Accession of Azerbaijan and 
Belarus  remain under consultation , following the resignation of Ambassador Walter Werner 
(Germany) and Ambassador Kemal Madenoğlu (Turkey), respectively .  
24. In 2021, Working Party Chairpersons remained actively engaged. They consulted 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. 
The active engagement of Chairpersons played a significant role in advancing the accession 
processes. Due to the C OVID -19 pandemic -related restrictions, no country visits could take place in 
2021.  At the same time, some non -resident Chairs made regular visits to Geneva to identify specific 
steps to move the accession process forward and mobilize support. The Chai rperson of the Working 
Party o n the Accession of Iraq, Ambassador Omar Hilale (Morocco) visited Geneva on three occasions 
in 2021 (in January, June and September).  
4. TRANSPARENCY IN THE ACCESSION PROCESS  
25. 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 2021.  
i. Informal Group on Accessions (IGA)  
26. The IGA held four meetings in 2021 , on 26 February, 4 June, 8 September  and 14 December .  
All meetings took place virtually on Interprefy . Consultations in the IGA focused on: (i)  Secretariat 
reports on state of play in eighteen  accession s and one observer ; (ii) Secretariat reports on 
technical -assistance and outreach activities , including on Trade for Peace ; (iii) planning of accession 
meetings and activities; and (iv) addressing specific concerns raised by Members.  
ii. WTO Accessions Newsletter  
27. In 2021, the Secretariat issu ed four WTO Accessions Newsletters , in March, July, September 
and December . The  Newsletter ensures transparency on accession matters, including recent 
developments, calendar of activities , issues of interests to the accession community  and activities 
under  the Trade for Peace Programme . It also aims to enhance communication with acceding 
governments, Chairpersons, Members, partners and the broader trade policy community. 
The number of subscribers to the Newsletter at the end of 2021 was 1606 (excluding subscribers 
from the Secretariat).  A separate Newsletter is envisaged for the Trade for Peace Programme 
in 2022.  
iii. Annual Outreach Dialogue with WTO Regional Groups  
28. The Secretariat regularly organises outreach dialogues with various WTO Re gional Groups to 
strengthen communication channels with Members and acceding governments. The dialogue also 
provides a platform to exchange region -specific information on WTO accessions. In 2021, due to the 
COVID -19 pandemic, no such dialogue could be orga nised. At the same time, the Secretariat WT/ACC/ 40 • WT/GC/ 243   
 
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  provided a briefing on the state of play in LDC accessions at the 91st session of the Sub -Committee 
on LDCs held on 2 July 20213.  
iv. Accessions Transparency Toolbox  
• WTO Accessions Intelligence Portal (AIP)  
29. The Ac cessions Intelligence Portal (https://www.wto.org/accessions) forms an integral part of 
the Secretariat's initiative to enhance tran sparency on WTO accession negotiations. The AIP provides 
access to documentation and data on  the WTO  accession processes, in cluding 36 completed and 
23 ongoing accessions. The Portal is regularly updated based on documentation received from 
acceding governments and produced by the Secretariat with respect to ongoing accessions.4 A new, 
more user -friendly layout of the AIP is u nder development, to be launched in 2022.  
• Accession Commitments Database (ACDB)  
30. The Accession Commitments Database (http://acdb.wto.org) provides access to all accession -
specific commitments and related information contained in Accession Working Party Rep orts and 
Protocols of the 36  Article  XII Members. The ACDB is available to the general public in the three 
WTO official languages.  
• Register of Bilateral Market Access Agreements  
31. 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 
Secretariat. The Register lists the type of the agreement (goods; serv ices; 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 ava ilable to WTO  Members via a password -protected access: 
https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/acc_e/xacc_e/register_e.htm.  
 
5.  TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND OUTREACH  
i. Technical assistance  
32. Technical assistance is important in supporting the advancement of accession negotiations, 
especially for LDCs . One of the four key results of the Biennial Technical Assistance and Training 
Plan5 (TA Plan) for 2020 -2021 focuses on the participation of acc eding governments in accession 
negotiations. Based on lessons learnt from the implementation of TA in 2018 -2019, the Plan 
prioritizes the needs of LDCs, reflecting the limited capacity in many of these countries.  The new 
TA Plan 2022 -23 aims to give conti nuity to previous TA Plans , including promoting fully inclusive 
activities that respond to the needs of the weakest and most vulnerable beneficiaries .  
33. In 2021, a total of 45 technical assistance and capacity building activities were delivered 
involving all observer s6. Most of these activities were conducted virtually according to COVID -19 
related guidance and included, inter alia , (i) technical sessions ; (ii) tailored  national training sessions 
and seminars; (iii) mission s; and (i v) roundtables.  
34. The Accessions Division, in collaboration with other Secretariat Divisions and/or other partner 
institutions, delivered technical assistance and advice to The Bahamas, Belarus, Bhutan, Bosnia and 
Herzegovina, Comoros,  Curaçao, Iraq, Sudan, Tim or-Leste,  Turkmenistan , and Uzbekistan : 
 
3 WT/COMTD/LDC/M/91.  
4 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 are only accessible to Members and acceding 
governments.  
5 The plan for 2020 -21 is contained in document WT/COMTD/W/248/Rev.1 . 
6 In total, over 5 45 participants took part in these activities . WT/ACC/ 40 • WT/GC/ 243 
 
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  i. At the request  of the Government of the Bahamas, the Secretariat conducted two 
activities:(i) a virtual training course on TBT transparency and ePing on 4 March; and (ii) a 
workshop on intellectual property training on 7 September.  
 
ii. At the request of the Government of Belarus, the Secretariat held a seminar on Trade -
Related Investment Measures (TRIMs) on 12 May.  
 
iii. At the request of the Government of Bhutan, the Secretariat provided a virtual training 
course on ePing fo r government officials and representatives of the private sector on 28 
May. 
 
iv. At the request of the Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Secretariat conducted 
technical sessions centred on the Draft Working Party Report on 7, 9 and 12 July.  
 
v. At the req uest of the Government of Comoros, the Secretariat organized technical sessions 
on bilateral market access of goods and services on 22 June and 5 October, respectively.  
 
vi. At the request of the Government of Curaçao , the Secretariat delivered 9 technical ass istance 
activities from 8 January to 5 July .7 These focused on: (i) services; (ii) TRIPS; (iii) 
government procurement; (iv) Trade Policy Review; (v) dispute settlement; (vi) regional 
trade agreements (vii) status of small island developing states (SIDS) and small vulnerable 
economies (SVEs); (viii) Memorandum on the Foreign Trade Regime  (MFTR) ; and (ix) goods.  
Two further training sessions were organized on their goods schedule and services initial 
offer on 20 October and 13 December, respectively.  
 
vii. At the request of the Government of Iraq, the Secretariat held a meeting regarding its 
Memorandum on the Foreign Trade Regime (MFTR) on 6 October.  
 
viii. At the request of the Government of Sudan, the Secretariat held a meeting regarding its 
goods offer on 18 M ay. 
 
ix. At the request of the Government of Timor -Leste, the Secretariat hosted 12 meetings8 to 
finalise technical documents and two training sessions9 on its services  offer and revised 
market access offer on goods. A technical session and two workshops on bilateral market 
access negotiations and multilateral negotiations were held on 14 June, 16 July and 23 July, 
respectively. On 2 December, the Secretariat held a roundtable for 31 delegates, including 
government officials and representatives of the private  sector and civil society followed by 
a technical training session focused on bilateral market access negotiations in  services  on 3 
December.  
 
x. At the request of  the Government of Turkmenistan , the Secretariat held a session focused 
on "Sustainability of tr ansport and trade connectivity in the Caspian Sea region in the age 
of pandemics " on 24 February.  
 
xi. At the request of the Government of Uzbekistan, the Secretariat participated at the 
International Scientific -Practical Conference session on "Organizational and legal issues of 
Uzbekistan's accession to the WTO: current status, problems and perspectives" on 10 March 
and at an international conference on "Central and South Asia: Regional Connectivity: 
Challenges and Opportunities" on 16 July. The Secretariat al so participated in a training 
session on WTO accession negotiations on 23 July (organized by ITC) and provided in -depth 
and tailored support during a mission to Tashkent from 26 -28 October. During the mission, 
high-level discussions took place with governm ent officials on the state of play and next 
steps in Uzbekistan's accession process and two roundtables were held with the academic 
and business community.  
 
 
7 Held on: 8 January; 12 January; 5 February; 12 February; 19 February; 12 March; 26 March; 4 June; 
5 July.  
8 Held on: 6 May; 10 -12 May; 17 -20 May; 14 June.  
9 Held on: 5 March; 29 March; 21, 24 and 26 May.  WT/ACC/ 40 • WT/GC/ 243   
 
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  35. As for global and regional TA activities, a  virtual services training was held from 15 to 26  March  
for all observer governments, in collaboration with ITC .10 Seventy -six officials from 15 governments 
participated in this activity. During the two -week course, participants enhanced their understanding 
of disciplines contained in the General Agreement on T rade in Services (GATS), including scheduling 
practices as well as the services commitments in WTO accessions.  They received training on issues 
such as the classification of services sectors, schedules of commitments, most -favoured nation 
(MFN) exemptions and domestic regulation of services. They also deepened their knowledge on 
specific services sectors, including business and professional services, telecommunication services, 
financial services, and postal and courier services.  Furthermore, participants h ad the opportunity to 
share experiences with accession negotiators in a roundtable format.   
36. The second Regional Dialogue for the Arab Region and the fourth Regional Dialogue for Africa, 
originally planned for November and December 2021, respectively, had t o be postponed due to 
COVID -19. The second Regional Dialogue for the Arab Region will now be held virtually on 7 -9 
February 2022.  
37. The 10th China Round Table on WTO Accessions and a technical assistance roundtable for LDC 
Accessions (Comoros, Timor -Leste) w as envisioned for 28 -29 November, however, both activities 
had to be postponed to January 2022 due to COVID -19 related restrictions.  
ii. Outreach  
38. 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. 
In addition, outreach activities focusing on WTO membership anniversary eve nts for Afghanistan, 
Liberia and China were organized.  
• Informal Group of Accedin g Governments (IGAG)  
39. The IGAG, which comprises 24 observer governments, held five meetings  in 2021 , including 
a meeting with Director -General Ngozi Okonjo -Iweala in November .11 An addition al meeting was 
planned at the ministerial level on 2 December; however, it was postponed due to restrictions related 
to the COVID -19 pandemic. In 202 1, the Group discussed, among others: (i) accessions and Joint 
Statement Initiatives (i.e., Inv estment Facilitation for Development, MSMEs and Services Domestic 
Regulation); (ii)  accession -specific technical assistance and outreach activities; (iii) achievements, 
challenges and the way forward, including  the DG's closer involvement in accessions.  In November, 
Uzbekistan took over the role of IGAG coordinator from Belarus  which had coordinated the Group 
since its establishment in March 2018 . 
• g7+ WTO Accessions Group  
40. The g7+ WTO Accessions Group, which comprises nine fragile and conflict affected  LDCs 
associated with WTO accession , held eight meetings  in 2021 .12 An additional meeting was planned 
at the ministerial level on 1 December; however, it was postponed due to restrictions related to the 
COVID -19 pandemic. In 2021, the Group focused  on, inter alia , the development of a Work 
Programme on Trade for Peace13 and a Joint Declaration referencing the importance of trade for 
peace strategies ahead of the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference. In January, Liberia and Timor -Leste  
jointly assumed t he coordination  of the Group, taking over from Afghanistan which had served as 
the Group  coordinator since in 2017.  
 
10 More information can be found here:  
https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news21_e/tra_26mar21_e.htm   
11 In 202 1, the IGAG met on 22 January  (virtual) , 26 February (virtual) , 28 May (hybrid) , 4 November 
(virtual) and 12 November (hybrid, with the Director -General).  
12 Held on: 23 March; 16 April; 30 April; 11 June; 1 October; 5 October; 17 November; and 6 
December.  
13 More information can be found here: 
https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news 21_e/tfp_05oct21_e.htm ; WTO document WT/GC/W/830.  WT/ACC/ 40 • WT/GC/ 243 
 
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  • Other outreach activities  
41. In 2021, t he Secretariat organised three events commemorating WTO membership 
anniversaries for Afghanistan, Liberia and China, in partnership with the respective governments. 
These events took place on 29 July  for Afghanistan's 5th anniversary ,14 on 4 October for Liberia's 5th 
anniversary15 and on 10 December for China's 20th anniversary .16 For Afgh anistan and Liberia, two 
separate studies were prepared for the assessment of their respective membership and were 
launched at the anniversary events.17  
iii.  China's LDCs and Accessions Programme (The China Programme)  
42. The " China's  LDCs and Accessions Programme" (the China  Programme) was established by 
the Government of China and the WTO on 14  July 2011. 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 Accessions Internship Programme "; and Pillar II " Annual China Round Tables on WTO 
Accessions".18  
43. Under the WTO Accessions Internship Programme (Pi llar I), 7 interns worked in the Accessions 
Division in the year under review.19 Of the 3 9 interns that have participated in the Programme since 
its launch  in 2011 , 13 have been from LDCs and 2 5 from non -LDCs.20 13 men and 26 women have 
participated in the  Programme. The breakdown of interns per region is presented in Figure 1. 
Figure 1: China Programme interns by region (2012 -2021)  
 
44. Under Pillar II, the 10th China Round Table on WTO Accessions was planned for 28 -29 
November as an in -person event back-to-back with MC12, but had to be postponed due to COVID -
19 related restrictions. The event was changed to virtual format on 18 -20 January 2022. The theme 
of the 10th China Round Table was "10 Years of Capacity -Building under the China Programme: 
Reflections on LDC Accessions". The objectives of the event were to (i) celebrate the 10 years 
 
14 More information on the event can be found here: 
https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news21_e/acc_09aug21_e.htm   
15 More informa tion on the event can be found here: 
https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news21_e/acc_04oct21_e.htm   
16 More information on the event can be found here: 
https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news21_e/acc_10dec21_e.htm    
17 The study on Afghanistan is available here: Microsoft Word - Final - Afghanistan report (intracen.org) . 
The study on Liberia is available here: Microsoft Word – Liberia Report - Final (1) (intracen.org)   
18 More background and information on the five pillars can be found here: 
https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/acc_e/china_programme_e.htm . 
19 The 20 21 China WTO Accession s Internship Programme participants were from Brazil, China, Ghana, 
India, Kenya, Venezuela and Viet Nam.  
20 An overview of former and current participants, including alumni stories, can be found here: 
https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/acc_e/pillar1_e.htm . 15
310
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  anniversary of the China Programme and (ii) reflect on LDCs accessions as well as ways in which 
the China Programme can continue to assist LDCs in their accession jou rney.  
45. A total of 141 participants participated in the high -level opening session which highlighted the 
key achievements of the China Programme since its establishment in July 2011. The opening session 
was followed by a round table where LDC ministers/chie f negotiators from Comoros, Timor -Leste, 
Yemen, Lao PDR and Cambodia discussed their respective accession and post -accession experiences 
as well as the challenges faced by LDCs in the accession process.  
46. Other registered participants included representative s of acceding governments, WTO 
Members, former and current Chief Negotiators on WTO accession, Working Party Chairpersons  etc. 
Session 2 and 3 were attended by 105 and 92 participants respectively. In session 2, experts 
examined the accession outcomes of t he nine WTO members that have joined the organization as 
LDCs under Article XII of the Marrakesh Agreement. In session 3, participants reflected on ways in 
which the China Programme can continue to provide targeted support to LDCs across its five main 
pillars.  
III. STATE OF PLAY IN ACCESSION WORKING PARTIES  
47. Table 1 provides an overview of 23 accessions by the status of accession negotiations, as of 
January 2022. In 202 1, the COVID -19 pandemic continued to affect progress in many accession s. 
In addition,  as in the past,  a range of factors  remain in play. They include, but are not limited to, 
ongoing negotiations  with Members; technical complexities; domestic challenges; political choices 
to delay for more impact analysis; re -ordered priorities; and/or post -conflict situations. Despite 
these challenges , progress  was registered in several LDC accessions , especially of Comoros, Sudan 
and Timor -Leste  where the respective Working Parties held meetings in 2021 . Technical progress 
was also made in non -LDC accessions, especially in Azerbaijan, Cura çao and Uzbekistan. This section 
provides the state of play on the ongoing accessions, as of December 20 21. More details of the state 
of play are provided and regularly updated in the Accessions Newsletter.  
Table 1: Current accessions by general status  
Gene ral Status  Accession  
Strategic focus  Bosnia and Herzegovina , Comoros*  
Work in progress  Azerbaijan,  The Bahamas,  Belarus , Ethiopia*, South 
Sudan*, Sudan* , Timor -Leste* , Uzbekistan  
Reactivation  Iraq, Lebanese Republic, Serbia  
Activation  Curaçao, Somalia*  
Inactive  Algeria,  Andorra, Bhutan*, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, 
Libya, Sao Tomé and Principe*, Syrian Arab 
Republic  
Notes: *LDC s. 
"Strategic focus" indicates accessions which could be concluded in 202 2, 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 wit h the objective of 
early resumption 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.  
48. 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.  WT/ACC/ 40 • WT/GC/ 243 
 
- 13 - 
 
  49. 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.  
50. 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 bilater al 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 
2022. 
51. The Bahamas : The Bahamas applied 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 , 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 R eport.  The fifth meeting will be convened subject to the submission of required 
negotiating inputs.  
52. Belarus : Belarus applied for WTO accession in September 1993. The Working Party was 
established in October 1993 and held its first meeting in 1997. 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 most recent (12th) meeting took place in July 2019. The 13th 
meeting was scheduled for March 2020  but had to be postponed due to the C OVID -related 
restrictions. To date, 16 signed bilateral market access agreements have been deposited with the 
Secretariat. Bilateral negotiations are ongoing with a limited number of Members. The draft Working  
Party Report is in its fourth revision.  
53. Bhutan : Bhutan applied for WTO accession 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 December 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 .  
54. 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 Working Party was held in February 2018. To date, 16 bilater al 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 eighth revision of the draft 
Working Party Report circul ated in October 2017. The 14th meeting will be convened after the 
conclusion of the remaining bilateral market access negotiation.  
55. Comoros : Comoros applied for WTO accession in March 2007. The Working Party was 
established in October 2007 and held its fir st meeting in December 2016. The sixth meeting was 
held on 21 September 2021. To date, four bilateral market access agreements have been signed 
and deposited with the Secretariat. Bilateral negotiations are reportedly ongoing with t wo Members. 
Multilateral  negotiations are ongoing on the basis of the second revision of the draft Working Party 
Report circulated in June 2021. The seventh meeting is envisaged for the 2nd quarter of 202 2, 
following the submission of required negotiating inputs.  
56. Curaçao : Curaçao applied for WTO accession in October 2019. The Working Party was 
established in March 2020. Curaçao's Memorandum on the Foreign Trade Regime was circulated in 
September 2021. The first meeting of the Working Party will be convened  following the sub mission 
of replies to questions raised by Members on the Memorandum.  
57. Equatorial Guinea : Equatorial Guinea applied for WTO accession in March 2007. The Working 
Party was established in February 2008. No Working Party meeting has been held to date.  Equatori al 
Guinea is currently preparing the Memorandum on the Foreign Trade Regime.  WT/ACC/ 40 • WT/GC/ 243   
 
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  58. Ethiopia : Ethiopia applied for WTO accession in January 2003. The Working Party was 
established in February 2003 and held its first meeting in May 2008. The fourth meeting of the 
Working Party was held on 30 January 2020. Bilateral negotiations are ongoing with several 
interested Members. On the multilateral level, the Working Party agreed to transform the Factual 
Summary of Points Raised to an Elements of the draft Report of the W orking Party. The fifth meeting 
will be convened subject to the submission of required negotiating inputs . 
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. Followi ng the circulation of the Memorandum on 
the Foreign Trade Regime in November  2009, Iran submitted technical inputs, including replies to 
Members' questions on the Memorandum, in 2011. The first meeting of the Working Party will be 
convened, following consu ltations of the Chairperson of the General Council with Members on the 
designation of a Chairperson of the Working Party.  
60. 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, an updated MFTR was circulated in 
February 2018. The third meeting will be convened following the submission of required negotiating 
inputs which should be circulated soon.  
61. 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, we re 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.  In addition, the 
submission of new revised market access offers on goods and services, last circulated in 2004, will 
be required.   
62. 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 proc ess. Libya is subject to Category  III administrative measures.21 
63. 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 has been held to date. 
Sao To mé and Principe is currently preparing the Memorandum on the Foreign Trade Regime. Sao 
Tomé and Principe is subject to Category III administrative measures.22   
64. Serbia : Serbia applied for WTO accession in December 2004. The Working Party was 
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 b ilateral market access negotiations remain with a limited 
number of Members. Multilateral negotiations are based on  the seven th 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.  
65. Somalia : Somalia applied for WTO accession in November 2016. The Working Party was 
established in December 2016. No Working Party meeting has been held to date. In May 2020, the  
Memorandum on Foreign Trade Regime was circulated to all Members of the WTO. The first meeting 
of the Working Party will be convened subject to the Somalia´s submission of replies to questions 
raised by Members on the Memorandum . Somalia is subject to Cat egory III administrative 
measures.23   
66. 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 convene d subject to South Sudan's submission of required inputs, 
including: the response to Members' questions and update of the MFTR; and the preparation of initial 
 
21 As of December 2021. 
22 As of December 2021.  
23 As of December 2021.  WT/ACC/ 40 • WT/GC/ 243 
 
- 15 - 
 
  market access offers on goods and services, accessions checklists and questionnaires and a revise d 
Legislative Action Plan.  
67. 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 t he fourth meeting in July 2017. In 2021, the Working 
Party met in informal mode  in March and held t he fifth meeting in July. The Working Party reviewed 
Factual Summary of Points Raised  along with other provided inputs and ma ndated the Secretariat 
to prepare the Elements of a draft Working Party Report . To date, three bilateral market access 
agreements have been signed and deposited with the Secretariat, while bilateral market access 
negotiations are ongoing with several inter ested Members.  The sixth meeting will take place, 
following the submission of required negotiating inputs.   
68. 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 submitted any negotiating inputs to initiate the process. 
The Syrian Arab Republic is subject to Category I I administrative measures.24 
69. Timor -Leste : Timor -Leste applied for WTO accessi on in November 2016. The  Working Party 
was established in December 2016  and held its first meeting on 1 October 2020 . The second meeting 
of the  Working Party  took place on 29 July  2021. The Working Party  reviewed the Factual Summary 
of Points Raised  along with other provided inputs  and the state of play in the bilateral market access 
negotiations with Members,  and mandated the Secretariat to prepare a revised Factual Summary / 
Elements of a draft Working Party Report . The third meeting is envisaged for the first quarter of 
2022, subject to the submission of required inputs.  
70. Uzbekistan : Uzbekistan applied for WTO accession in December 1994. The Working Party was 
established in December 1994 and held its first meeting in 2002. The fourth meeting of the Working 
Party took place in July 2020. Bilateral negotiations are ongoing with several interested Members. 
In preparation for the fifth meeting of the Working Party, a Factual Summary of Points Raised was 
circulated in July 2021. The fifth meeting is envisaged for the first quarter of 2022 subject to the 
submission of outstanding negotiating inputs.  
71. Figure 2 provides a snapshot of the state of play in accession negotiations , as of 
31 December  2021. 
 
24 As of December 202 1. WT/ACC/ 40 • WT/GC/ 243   
 
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  Figure 2: State  of play in ongoing accession negotiations   
 
 
 
IV. TRADE FOR PEACE PROGRAMME  
72. Over a half of the countries acceding to the WTO are LDCs and/or classified as fragile and 
conflict affected states (FCS). The ideas behind the Trade for Peace (T4P) Initiative, which has now 
become  a fully fledged program me, originate from the establishme nt of the g7+ WTO Accessions 
Group  during the 11th WTO Ministerial Conference in December 2017. The Group consists of nine 
FCS-LDCs associated with accession25, and its vision is  to use trade and economic integration 
through WTO accession as tools to promote peace and stability. The Group is currently 
co-coordinated by Liberia (WTO Member) and Timor -Leste (acceding government ). This vision is 
now shared by non -LDC acceding FC S, including Iraq, Lebanon, Libya and Syrian Arab Republic.26 
73. In addition to supporting the g7+ WTO Accessions Group, the Secretariat has undertaken a 
number of  activities,  including the first edition of the Trade for Peace Week  in December 2020, to 
bring together the trade, peace and humanitarian communities to have a better understanding of 
the relationship between the multilateral trading system, peace and security. These activities 
generated interests from various partners to collaborate with t he WTO to support FCS that are in 
the process of accession.  
74. In 2021, a number of activities took place  under the T4P Programme , starting with the launch 
of the T4P Network  in March. These activities can be divided into four pillars: (i) political engagemen t 
and institutional partnerships; (ii)  outreach and dialogue; (iii) research; and (iv) training and 
capacity building. A large part of the activities that have taken place so far fall under Pillar 1 to 3.  
 
25 Include six acceding LDCs ( Comoros, Sao Tome and Principe, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, 
Timor -Leste ) and three Article XII LDCs (Afghanistan, Liberia  and Yemen ).  
26 The Secretariat has used the World Bank list of FCA states, which is updated annually. The  following 
acceding governments are included: high-intensity conflicts - Libya, Somalia, and the Syrian Arab Republic; 
medium -intensity conflict  - Iraq and South Sudan; and high institutional and social fragility - Comoros, Lebanon, 
Sudan and Timor -Leste . In addition, other acceding governments, including Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and 
Herzegovina, Ethiopia, Iran, have been affected by conflicts, manifesting fragility in different ways.  
WT/ACC/ 40 • WT/GC/ 243 
 
- 17 - 
 
  Pillar 1: Political engagement and institutional partnerships  
75. This pillar aims at maintaining regular contacts and exchange between the WTO and key 
bodies in the international community to support the integration of FCS in the multilateral trading 
system. Since the first contact was established with the g7 + Secretariat, based in Timor -Leste, in 
early 2018 , the number of partners interested in collaborating with the WTO in the T4P context has 
increased in the trade , peace and humanitarian communities.  
76. In March 2021, the Trade for Peace Network  was launched with over 70  participants, to 
provide a platform:  
• for regular exchange between policymakers and experts from the trade, peace and 
humanitarian communities to explore the nexus be tween the multilateral trading 
system, peace and security ; 
• to explore areas of collaboration and actions by members of the Network, within their 
respective mandates, to support FCS seeking to join the WTO and to transition from 
a state of fragility towards  stability and prosperity through integration into the 
multilateral trading system ; and  
• to set the agenda and work programme for the Trade for Peace Programme, including 
collaborative research, training, outreach activities, and information and experience 
sharing among members of the Network.  
77. The meeting brought together over 70 partners and experts from the trade, peace, and 
humanitarian communities, including heads of international organisations, representatives of FCS 
countries associated with accession,  accession Working Party Chairpersons and delegates including 
ambassadors from WTO Members. Key outcomes of the meeting included inter alia : the preparation 
of the White Paper to be finalized in time for the T4P Conference; the continuation of Trade for Peace 
activities under the four pillars and the organisation of the Trade for Peace Conference to adopt a 
work programme, which may be supported by a multi -donor trust fund.  
Pillar 2:  Outreach and Dialogue  
78. This pillar builds on the  various outreach activities  organised before the launch of the T4P 
Network and aims at increasing and deepening the u nderstanding of the trade -peace nexus through 
greater interaction between the trade, peace and humanitarian communities on issues of common 
interest. In 2021, the following  outreach  activities were organized :   
• UN High -Level Political Forum 2021  
o Trade for Peace: Addressing Fragility Through Economic Integration and 
Shared Prosperity, 8 July 2021  
 
• Geneva Trade Week 2021  
o Opening Plenary Session, 27 September 2021  
o Trade for Peace: Back to Basics, 29 September 2021  
 
• International Leadership Association Conf erence 2021  
o Trade for Peace: how can the WTO be an active promotor of peace through 
positive and peaceful world trade? 22 October 2021   
 
• Geneva Peace Week 2021  
o Closing Session: From seeds to systems of peace: Weathering today’s 
challenges , 5 November 2021  
 
• World Summit on Information Society (WSIS)  
o ICTs and Peace, 10 November 2021  
 
• Trade for Peace Week 2021  
o Trade and Security , Eurasian Perspectives, 15-19 November 2021  
 
79. The full list of trade for peace events is available here:  
https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/acc_e/trade4peace_events_e.htm    WT/ACC/ 40 • WT/GC/ 243   
 
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  80. The most important and innovative outreach tool developed by the Secretariat in 2021 was 
the Trade for P eace Podcast  which was launched in March.  Hosted by Mr. Axel M. Addy, former 
Minister of Commerce and Industry of Liberia and Chief Negotiator for WTO Accession, the T4P 
Podcast is aimed at providing an open platform to exchange various perspectives on tra de and peace, 
whether from policy makers or those on the ground in FCS. The Podcast is aired on a bi-monthly 
basis and 16 episodes were released in 2021 . The episodes of the T4P Podcast are available on Apple 
Podcast , Google Podcasts , Amazon Music , Spotify , Podbean  and Castbox . As of December 2021, t he 
16 episodes registered a total of 2364 downloads across 104 countries .  
Pillar 3: Research  
81. This pillar aims to gather, generate and deepen knowledge on the linkages between trade and 
peace through the establishment of a "Research and Knowledge Hub", a subset of the T4P Network. 
The first meeting  of the Hub was held on 6 July where experts from various institutions exchanged 
views on the direction and areas of potential research .  
82. As a follow -up to th is meeting , a  Call for Papers  for a publication examining the linkage 
between trade and peace was issued by the WTO Secretariat  in August 2021 . Several expressions 
of interest were received,  and the selection process will be concluded in the first quarter of 2022.  
The development of a Trade for Peace Index also began  in collaboration with the Institute for 
Economics and Peace. The Index aims to shed light on the linkages between trade and peace, 
reflecting their various drivers and precepts.   
Pillar 4: Training and Capacity Building   
83. This pillar aims to foster mutual learning and experience sharing among trade experts and 
peace practitioners. The development of specific activities is dependent, partly on the work in Pillar 
3. At the same  time, joint training activities with interested partners, including with the Graduate 
Institute , are being planned  for 2022 . 
V.  THE ACCESSION  OF LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES – ACHIEVEMENTS AND OUTLOOK  
1. INTRODUCTION  
84. 2021 marked 50 years since the establishment of the least developed countries (LDCs) 
category by the United Nations. LDCs, defined as countries that have low levels of income and face 
severe structural impediments to sustainable development , are identified on the basis of three 
criteria: income, human assets, and economic and environmental vulnerability. Today, the LDC  list 
includes 46 countries  including 33 from Africa, nine from Asia, three from the Pacific and one from 
the Caribbean.27  
85. In the multilateral trading system, the necessity of paying special attention to the needs of 
LDCs gained prominence in the GATT shortly after the 1971 UN resolution establishing the LDC 
category. This included, inter alia , the 1979 Decision on Differentia l and More Favourable Treatment, 
Reciprocity and Fuller Participation of Developing Countries (the Enabling Clause) .28  
86. Since  then, several initiatives aimed at increasing the trade opportunities of LDCs have been 
introduced, especially after the WTO was e stablished in 1995.29 Accession was identified as one of  
the areas where WTO Members made commitment to support the meaningful integration of LDCs 
into the multilateral trading system. At the Fourth WTO Ministerial Conference in November 2001, 
Ministers st ated that "a ccession of LDCs remains a priority for the Membership " and "agree[d] to 
work to facilitate and accelerate negotiations with acceding LDCs ". The LDC Accession Guidelines , 
approved  by the General Council in December  2002, has been one of the ini tiatives aimed at 
 
27 The list of LDCs can be found here: https://www.un.org/ohrlls/content/profiles -ldcs  
28 In the Decision of 28 November 1979 (L/4903), GATT contracting parties decided (i) to accord special 
LDC treatment in the context of special and differential treatment measu res (paragraph 2 (d)); (ii) to exercise 
the utmost restraint in seeking any concessions or contributions for commitments made by LDCs (paragraph 6); 
and (iii) to recognize the particular difficulties that may be faced by LDCs in making concessions and cont ributions 
in trade negotiations (paragraph 8).  
29 See a report by the WTO Secretariat providing some information on the decisions in favour of LDCs 
here: https://www.wto.org/english/res_e/booksp_e/boosting_trade_opportunities_for_ldcs_e.pdf   WT/ACC/ 40 • WT/GC/ 243 
 
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  facilitating LDCs' accessions.30 Following the adoption of the Guidelines, nine LDCs have joined the 
Organisation between 2004 and 2016, while eight more LDCs are still in the process of acceding.  
87. As the WTO marks the 20th anniversary of the LDC Accession Guidelines, t he thematic section 
of the 2021 D G's Annual Report will : (i) review the achievements in integrating LDCs in the 
multilateral trading system through WTO accession; (ii) examine the post accession performance of  
the LDCs that joined the WTO  between 2004 and 2016 ; and (iii) recommend ways in which LDCs 
can harness the WTO accession process to make progress towards realizing their developmental 
goals. The thematic section is based on a paper titled "Accession of Le ast Developed Countries to 
the WTO: Challenges and Opportunities" prepared for the 10th China Round Table (CRT -10), and the 
discussions at the Roundtable held virtually on 18 -20 January 2022.31  
2. OVERVIEW OF LDC ACCESSIONS  
88. Since the establishment of the WTO in 1995, 36 economies have joined the Organisation 
pursuant to Article XII of the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the WTO, and nine of them 
concluded accession negotiations as LDCs. These were Nepal and Cambo dia in 2004, Cabo Verde in 
2008, Samoa and Vanuatu in 2012, Lao PDR in 2013, Yemen in 2014, and Liberia and Afghanistan 
in 2016. Three of these countries – Cabo Verde, Samoa and Vanuatu – since graduated from LDC 
status, in 200 7, 2014 and 2020, respectivel y.   
89. As of January 2022,  eight LDCs are in the process of accession32, accounting for over one -
third of ongoing accessions . On average, they have been in the process of accession for  14 years 
and 7 months . This long duration can be attributed to the complex nature of the accession process 
which requires institutional and legal reforms that are aligned with international best -practices in 
addition to goods and services trade liberalization. Such a process requires substantial resources 
and focused inte rnal coordination which are often deficient in most LDCs facing inherent 
developmental challenges.   
90. Table 2 lists the Article XII members that joined the WTO as LDCs as well as LDC s in the 
process of accession. It should also be noted that four of the  acceding LDCs , i.e. Bhutan, Comoros, 
Sao Tomé and Principe and Timor -Leste, have met the criteria to graduate from LDC status.33 
In addition, six of the acceding LDCs are also considered fragile and conflict affected  states (FCS), 
according to the World Bank .  
Table 2: LDC Article XII Members an d Observers, as of January 2022  
Article XII Members  LDC Observers  
  Member  Date of 
Application  Date of Accession    Observer  Date of Application  
1 Afghanistan+ 11/2004  07/2016  1 Bhutan  10/1999  
2 Cabo Verde * 11/1999  07/2008  2 Comoros+ 10/2007  
3 Cambodia  12/1994  10/2004  3 Ethiopia+ 02/2003  
4 Lao PDR  07/1997  02/2013  4 Sao Tomé & Principe  05/2005  
5 Liberia  06/2007  07/2016  5 Somalia+ 12/2016  
6 Nepal  05/1989  04/2004  6 South Sudan+ 12/2017  
7 Samoa * 04/1998  05/2012  7 Sudan+ 10/1994  
8 Vanuatu *  07/1995  08/2012  8 Timor -Leste+ 12/2016  
9 Yemen+ 04/2000  06/2014    
  
* Cabo Verde, Samoa and Vanuatu graduated from LDC status in 200 7, 2014 and 2020, respectively.  
 
+ Afghanistan, Yemen, Comoros, Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Timor -Leste are on the World Bank's FY22 List of 
Fragile and Conflict -affected States  (FCS) . 
 
91. The most recent Members to accede to the WTO were Liberia and Afghanistan, in July 2016.  
They are not only LDCs, but FCS that have suffered years of civil wars. For them, WTO membership 
 
30 WT/L/508. The guidelines were updated in 2012, contained in WT/L/508/Add.1.    
31 The full paper is available here: https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/acc_e/10thcrt_e.pdf   
32 LDCs which are yet to apply for WTO accession include: Eritrea, Kiribati and Tuvalu.   
33 Bhutan and Sao Tomé and Principe are  scheduled to graduate in 2023 and 2024, respectively. Timor -
Leste has met the graduation criteria at least two consecutive times, but the decision has been deferred by the 
UN's Committee for Development Policy. Comoros has met the criteria for the first t ime in 2021.  WT/ACC/ 40 • WT/GC/ 243   
 
- 20 - 
 
  represented a pathway to stability and peace , as t he accession process served as an institution -
building tool and provided a basis for establishing an international ly recognized legal framework to 
develop their  trade policy and  conduct  trade relations with the rest of the world. Their accession 
story inspired the accession application of other FCS i.e. Somalia, South Sudan and Timor -Leste , 
and led to the creation of the g7+ WTO Accessions Group, a s well as the establishment of the Trade 
for Peace Programme (see section IV). 
3. LDC ACCESSION RESULTS TO DATE  
92. The results  of the accession negotiations of the nine LDCs are note worthy , both on the 
multilateral and bilateral tracks . Table 3 provides a summary of the number of questions responded, 
commitments undertaken, and legislation enacted/amended during the multilateral negotiations. 
On average, these LDCs answered 722 questi ons, undertook 30 rules -related  commitments,34 and 
enacted/amended 91 legislative instruments35. These numbers are lower than the overall average 
of the 36 Article XII members which stood at 1019 questions answered, 43 commitments 
undertaken, and 188 legislative instruments enacted/amended. As t he implementation of some 
commitments  was recognised as particularly challenging , they were  often granted transition periods 
taking into account their individual development, financial and trade needs . Areas whe re they were 
granted transition periods include TBT, SPS and TRIPS.   
Table 3: Results of Article XII LDCs' Multilateral Negotiations  
Article XII Member  Date of accession  Number of 
questions 
answered  Number of 
commitment 
paragraphs  Number of 
legislative 
instruments  
Afghanistan  30/07/2016  466 37 75 
Cabo Verde  23/07/2008  460 26 73 
Cambodia  13/10/2004  888 29 85 
Lao PDR  2/2/2013  914 26 159 
Liberia  14/07/2016  343 31 102 
Nepal  23/04/2004  1,224 25 24 
Samoa  10/5/2012  1,164 37 123 
Vanuatu  24/08/2012  264 30 123 
Yemen  26/06/2014  773 28 58 
Average for Article XII LDCs  722 30 91 
Average for all Article XII members  1,019 43 188 
Source: WTO  
93. In the bilateral market access negotiations, the nine Article XII Members which negotiated as 
LDCs, on average, concluded 10 and 7 agreements on goods and services , respectively. Table 4 
gives an indication of the level of their tariff concessions in goods, whic h are much more extensive 
than those of original LDC Members. For instance, t he binding coverage of tariff concessions on 
goods is 100 % for almost all these Members, while for original LDC Members, it stood at 53.7%. 
For the final bound rates, Article XII LDC Members have an average of 22.4 %, compared to 65.2 % 
for original LDC Members.  
 
34 In total, they made commitments in 35 out of the 38 specific sections covered in the Working Party 
Report  (see more details in Annex 5-1). 
35 The total number of legislation submitted to the Secretariat in the process of accession, including bills, 
draft and proposed versions of the legislation. Source of the information is Annex 1 of the WPR.  
 
 WT/ACC/ 40 • WT/GC/ 243 
 
- 21 - 
 
  Table 4: Results of Article XII LDCs' Bilateral Market Access Negotiations  
Article XII 
LDC Members  Date of 
Membership  GOODS  SERVICES  
Binding 
coverage 
(%) Average final bound rate (%)  Number 
of 
services 
sub-
sectors  All 
products  Agricultural  Non-
agricultural 
products  products  
1 Afghanistan  30/07/2016  96.6 13.5 33.6 10.3 104 
2 Cabo Verde  23/07/2008  100 15.8 19.3 15.2 103 
3 Cambodia  13/10/2004  100 19.1 28.1 17.7 94 
4 Lao PDR  02/02/2013  100 18.8 19.3 18.7 79 
5 Liberia  14/07/2016  100 26.7 23.8 27.2 102 
6 Nepal  23/04/2004  99.4 26 41.5 23.7 77 
7 Samoa  10/05/2012  100 21.1 25.8 20.4 80 
8 Vanuatu  24/08/2012  100 39.7 43.7 39.1 69 
9 Yemen  26/06/2014  100 21.1 24.9 20.5 78 
AVERAGE        
 Article XII LDCs  99.6 22.4 28.9 21.4 87 
 Original LDCs Members  53.7 65.2 79.9 45.4 20 
Source: WTO  
 
94. Article  XII LDCs have also made significant commitments to reduce regulatory barriers in trade 
in services (see Table 4). On average, they  undertook specific commitments in 87 services sub -
sectors. In general, these commitments have been undertaken across all 12 services sectors  as 
defined by the WTO , with the exception of Cabo Verde and Samoa , that did not commit in the health -
related and social services sector s, and Vanuatu and Lao PDR , that did not commit in recreational, 
cultural and sporting services . This is a much broader level of commitment than that of the Original 
LDC members w hich, on average, had undertaken specific commitments in  20 services sub -sectors.    
 
4. POST  ACCESSION : PARTI CIPATION OF ARTICLE XII LDCS IN THE WORK OF THE WTO  
95. The WTO accession process sets the foundation for a country to exercise rights and obligations 
as a Member under  different pillars of WTO 's work. The onus is on the country itself to leverage 
membership benefits to achieve its economic development goals. Regular participation in WTO 
meetings , either as an individual Member or through relevant Regional Groups such as th e LDC 
group, is the most effective way to  build post -accession capacity , deepen  WTO knowledge  and 
pursue own offensive and defensive interests . This section provides highlights of the participation of 
Article XII LDCs in selected areas of work of the WTO.      
- Participation in WTO Councils and Committees  
 
96. While responding to a large number of questions from Members is an essential cornerstone of 
every accession (see paragraph 92), "questions and replies" is also an important part of the work of 
WTO councils and committees  which oversee the implementation of specific WTO rules . As part of 
this work, all nine Article XII LDCs have received  and responded to questions from other WTO 
Members  (see Annex 5-2) with the majority of these relating to trade facilitation and custom s 
valuation. Article XII LDCs  have also used the WTO as a platform for raising several concerns about  
other WTO Members . For example, Lao PDR raised a concern in re lation to Canada's investigation 
on silicon metal  in 2017 and Cambodia raised a concern with respect to the EU's safeguard measures 
on Indica Rice from Cambodia  in 201 9.  
97. In the TBT and SPS Committees, while Article XII LDCs have not raised any specific tr ade 
concerns (STCs) against other WTO Members, two of them were subject to STCs raised by other 
Members. Four STCs were brought up in the TBT Committee against the Gulf Cooperation Council  WT/ACC/ 40 • WT/GC/ 243   
 
- 22 - 
 
  (GCC) and Yemen .36 Nepal was subject to two STCs, one raised in the TBT  Committee , the other 
one in the SPS Committee.   
98.  In addition, several Article XII LDC Members have actively contributed to the Organisation's 
regular work by chairing various bodies. These include Afgh anistan,  which chaired the Committees 
on Rules of Origin (2021), Trade and Development (2020), and Trade Facilitation (2019), the 
Working Group on Trade, Debt and Finance  (2018), and the Working Party on the Accession of South 
Sudan  (2019 -2020); and Nepal which chaired the Committee on Custom s Valuation (2021).  In 
addition, Nepal and Cambodia served as Coordinators of the WTO LDC Group in 2013 and 2017 , 
respectively, representing and speaking for the Group in WTO bodies, including on negotiating 
issues. In 2021, Liberia became the Co -coordinator of the g7+ WTO Accessions Group, together with 
Timor -Leste. Among other issues, this Group is calling on the WTO to pursue a Trade for Peace 
agenda, especially for fragile and conflict -affected states in the process of accession (see section  IV).   
- Transparency  
99. Transparency  is a key principle of the multilateral trading system underpin ning all WTO 
agreement s. Article XII LDCs submitted a total of 591 notifications to different committees  
(on average 66 notifications each ). Some 265 notifications were submitted by the Members of the 
GCC Standardization Organization, including also Yemen. As individual notifiers, Nepal and Cambodia 
submitted the most notifications, 77 and 73, respectively.  Afghanistan, Lao  PDR, Samoa and 
Vanuatu submitted 30 plus notifications to various  WTO committees. Annex 5-3 summarizes this 
information . 
100.  The trade policy review mechanism is  an important function of the WTO and  key in 
strengthening transparency within the system . Out of the nine Article XII Members , six had at least 
one trade policy review : Cambodia in November 2011 and November 2017; Nepal in March 2012 
and December 2018; Cabo Verde in October 2015; Lao PDR in November 2019; Samoa in April 2019 
and Vanuatu in October 201 8. In addition, Article XII LDCs have participated in TPRs of other 
Members,  including through making statements,  with Nepal and Cambodia registering the highest 
number of participation (20  each). See Annex 5-4 and 5-5 for more details.  
- Using WTO platforms for disputes  
101.  The dispute  settlement mechanism is key to preserv ing the rights and obligations of the WTO 
Members under the covered agreements. To date, none  of the Article XII LDC Members have filed a 
dispute or had a dispute filed against them . Only Afghanistan was a third party to three  disputes 
(DS576, DS538, DS526)37 and Yemen  to two disputes  (DS567, DS526)38 involving  other countries . 
See Annex 5-7.  
- Participation in Plurilateral Agreements  and negotiations  
102.  It should  be noted that some Article XII LDCs joined plurilateral agreements as part of their 
accession package. These include Afghanistan and Cambodia which are participant to the 
Information Technology Agreement (ITA -I). In 2021, Lao PDR joined the ITA -I and the ITA Expansion 
(ITA-II), becoming the first LDC to do so. Afghanistan became the first LDC to become an observer 
to the Government Procurement Agreement in 2017.39 See Annex 5-6 for details.  
 
36 While Yemen is not a Member of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), it is a member of the GCC 
Standardization Organization (GSO ) which is a standards  organization  for the member states of the 
GCC plus Yemen.  
37 DS576  (Qatar — Certain measures concerning goods from the United Arab Emirates ); DS538 
(Pakistan — Anti-Dumping Measures on Biaxially Oriented Polypropylene Film from the United Arab Emirates ); 
DS526 ( United Arab Emirates — Measures Relating to Trade in Goods and Services, and Trade -Related Aspects 
of Intellectual Property Rights ). 
38 DS567  (Saudi Arabia — Measures concerning the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights ); DS526  
(United Arab Emira tes — Measures Relating to Trade in Goods and Services, and Trade -Related Aspects of 
Intellectual Property Rights ). 
39 Afghanistan was interested in joining the GPA as an observer for two reasons: i) Afghanistan 's procurement 
law is open to international compan ies without any discrimination ; ii) to build the capacity of the procurement 
agency of the government by utilizing technical assistance from the WTO.  WT/ACC/ 40 • WT/GC/ 243 
 
- 23 - 
 
  103.  In addition , several Article XII LDCs have been participating in the various on -going Joint 
Statement Initiatives  (JSIs) since the 11th Ministerial Conference. These include: the JSI on 
Investment Facilitation for Development ( Afghanistan , Cabo Verde, Cambodia , Lao PDR, Liberia and 
Vanuatu ); the JS I on Micro -, Small and Medium Enterprises (Afghanistan and Lao PDR) and the JSI 
on Electronic Commerce (Lao PDR). More recently, some have joined three new environment 
initiatives, launched in December 2021, including on the Trade and Environmental Sustain ability 
Structured Discussions (Cabo Verde); the Informal Dialogue on Plastic Pollution and Environmentally 
Sustainable Plastics Trade  (Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Vanuatu); and Fossil Fuel Subsidy 
Reform (Vanuatu).  
- Technical assistance and capac ity building  
104.  Technical  assistance and capacity building (TA/CB) remain critical after accession as there is 
a continuing need to build knowledge and expertise on all WTO matters. Article XII LDCs are active 
users of various WTO TA/CB activities, including those delivered in collaboration with other partners  
and within the framework of the China Programme (see section II.5.iii ). A total of 7,356 participants 
from the nine Article XII LDCs have been involved in capacity building programmes – both online 
and face -to-face – offered by the WTO directly or with partners.  Nepal registered the highest number 
of participants in WTO TA/CB programmes at 1,432, followed by Samoa and Cambodia with more 
than 1 ,000 participants in the programmes. On average, 817 participants per country took part in 
capacity building programmes. See Annex 5-8 for more details.  
5. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS  
105.  Since its establishment in 1995, the WTO has welcomed nine LDCs to the multilateral trading 
system. Despite going through complex and sometimes challenging negotiating processes, these 
LDCs have undertaken accession commitments reflecting their goal of using WTO membership for 
domestic reforms and economic transformation. The economies of several of these LDCs have 
performed particularly well, as exemplified by their graduation from the LDC status.  
106.  However, the benefits of WTO membership can only be fully realised if LDC members become 
active particip ants in the work of the WTO, building on the experience gained in the WTO accession 
process. Drawing on the track record of the Article XII LDCs, it is possible to identify key lessons 
and best practices in acc ession and post -accession for consideration by acceding LDC s as well as 
other acceding governments.  
- Undertake reforms that would have been difficult otherwise  
107.  The accession process is accompanied by trade -related reforms, and such reforms are often 
an in tegral part of the country's structural reform agenda. While each accession is unique, the 
existing accession  acquis  can serve as an instrument  for acceding governments  to launch the 
structural transformation of the ir economies aimed at improving the business environment and 
attracting foreign direct investment. During the accession process, significant technical and financial 
assistance is made available to acceding LDCs to support domestic reforms.  
- Establish an effective national consultation and coordination structure  
108.  The accession process is a nation -wide endeavour as it covers various policy issues. Therefore, 
it requires acceding governments to e stablish a functional  intra-governmental coordination  and 
stakeh older consultation  structure . While this is crucial during the accession process, it becomes 
even more so after accession as active participation in the work of the WTO requires regular domestic 
consultation and coordination, in addition to effective Genev a-based representation. To ensure the 
continuity of engagement, consideration may be given to transform the national coordination 
mechanism used during the accession process for the membership phase, with necessary 
modification of its mandate, especially r egarding its relationship with Geneva -based 
representative(s).  
- Build the technical capacity of trade officials  during and post accession   
109.  Tailor -made technical assistance  and training are provided to LDCs during accession by the 
WTO Secretariat, partner organisations or WTO Members. Furthermore, engagement in accession WT/ACC/ 40 • WT/GC/ 243   
 
- 24 - 
 
  negotiations itself is one of the best forms of training and technical assistance available to acquire 
WTO knowledge through "learning by doing". After accession, demands for technical expertise tend 
to grow, in particular if LDCs choose to participate actively in all pillars of WTO work and in 
discussions on new issues, such as the JSIs. In addition to makin g best use of the training provided 
by the WTO Secretariat, it is also important to ensure that the trade officials who benefit from such 
training stay involved in WTO -related work throughout accession as well as post accession. LDCs 
can also tap into the technical and financial assistance provided by  development partners to facilitate 
their accession and post -accession journeys.  
- Rebuild and rebrand  
110.  The majority of the current acceding LDCs are classified as fragile and conflict affected  states 
(FCS) . For these LDCs, the pursui t of WTO membership is an integral part of their institution -building, 
nation -building or reconstruction process, as demonstrated by the most recently completed 
accessions of Afghanistan and Liberia. The challenges faced by thes e FCS require greater 
understanding of their special circumstances as well as their human capacity, financial and 
institutional needs. The Trade for Peace Programme has been developed for FCS in accession 
(see section IV). 
VI. POST -ACCESSION  
111.  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 Practi ces on WTO Post -Accession" (document WT/ACC/27);  
iv. Dedicated webpage on "Post -accession — what next?" on the WTO website;40 
v. Internal Secretariat Note on Post -Accession Implementation and Monitoring.  
112.  In 2021, the Secretariat continued monitoring the participation of Article XII Members in the 
work of the WTO and organized dedicated outreach sessions on post -accession (pillars ii and v). 
As part of this work, dedicated sessions were organized focusing on post -accession experiences of 
governments celebrating accession anniversaries in 2021 – Afghanistan, Liberia and China 
(see paragraph 41).   
113.  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 .41 
114.  Additionally, representatives of Article XII Members continued taking part in discussions in 
various accession -related TA and outreach activities, as reported under Section  II.5, to discuss their 
post-accession experiences and give advice to current acceders.  
VII. TRADE AND ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE OF ARTICLE XII MEMBERS42 
115.  This section provides an overview of 2020 developments in world trade, highlighting the 
impact of the COVID -19 pandemic on the global economy and on Article XII Members. Further, it 
casts light on the export divers ification and economic resilience of acceded governments. As outlined 
in the 2021 World Trade Report,43 trade diversification can be an important determinant of a 
country's ability to cope with and recover from shocks. In this regard, this section explores  Article 
XII Members' diversification indicators based on the study and methodology developed in the 2017 
 
40 Available at https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/acc_e/post_acc_e.htm   
41 The study is available here:  https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/acc_e/10thcrt_e.htm   
42 See Annexes 6 and 7 to this R eport.  
43 Available at https://www.wto.org/english/res_e/publications_e/wtr21_e.htm . WT/ACC/ 40 • WT/GC/ 243 
 
- 25 - 
 
  World Tariff Profiles with regards to the average number of exported product categories, 
geographical coverage, stability of exports and related produ ct diversification index.44 
116.  According to the World Trade Statistical Review 20 2145, world merchandise trade volume, 
measured by the average  of exports and imports, decreased by 5.3% in 2020. This was largely due 
to the COVID -19 pandemic and its severe disr uptions on global economic activity. The nominal value 
of world trade in goods and services declined by 12% in 2020 and amounted to US$ 22 trillion. 
The fall in the nominal merchandise trade value was even larger, with the value of exports 
decreasing by ar ound 8% to US$17.58 trillion in 2020. World trade in commercial services contracted 
by 21% in 2020, having been more severely affected by the COVID -19 pandemic  than merchandise 
trade.  World merchandise trade volume was predicted to grow 10.8% in 2021, followed by a 4.7% 
rise in 2022,  with moderate growth rates as merchandise trade reaches its pre -pandemic long -term 
trend.46 
117.  The trade and economic performance of Article XII Members has also been negatively 
impacted by the COVID -19 pandemic. In 2020, the merchandise trade of Article XII Members 
decreased by 2.1%, reaching a nominal value of  US$ 7.44 trillion. Notably, the overall impact of the 
pandemic on recently a cceded governments ' merchandise trade was less severe  than the world 
average. However, trade  in commercial services for Article XII Members followed the world trend, 
having declined by 23.1% in 2020.  
118.  For many acceded countries, accession to the WTO provided an opportunity to implement 
wide-ranging reforms aimed at structural transformation and ec onomic diversification.47 The 
diversity of exports is seen as a sign of economic competitiveness and increased participation in the 
global value chains.  
119.  The range of Harmonized System (HS) product codes covered by a country's exports is a 
simple and trans parent indicator of export diversification . Figure 3 shows an increase in the range 
of product categories48 exported by Article XII Members from 1996 to 2019, which closely mirrored 
the overall world trend. Figure 4 focuses specifically on how Article XII Members  diversified their 
exports in the years before and after accession to the WTO. It shows that Article XII Members have, 
on average, achieved higher export product diversification post -accession, with three -fourths of 
acceded governments having increa sed the number of product categories covered in their exports.  
Figure 3: Export product diversification for Article XII Members over time  
 
 
44 See methodology at https://www.wto.org/english/res_e/booksp_e/tariff_profiles17_e.pdf . For the 
purposes of this report, data for Article XII Members (excluding Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Latvia and 
Lithuania) has been updated until 2019.  
45 Available at https://www.wto.org/english/res_e/statis_e/wts2021_e/wts21_toc_e.htm . 
46 https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/pres21_e/pr889_e.htm . 
47 2016 Annual Report by the Director -General on WTO Accessions (WT/ACC/28)  
48 Measured  at the HS six -digit level (comprising  about 5,000 products).  
WT/ACC/ 40 • WT/GC/ 243   
 
- 26 - 
 
   
Figure 4: Export product diversification before and after accession  
(Indices, WTO accession year = 100)  
 
 
120.  Figure 5 shows the stability of product categories traded by Article XII Members across years. 
This index is calculated by comparing the number of product categories traded continuously over a 
certain period with the number of individual product categories traded at any time over the reference 
period (1996 -2019). The figure demonstrates that, on average, the stability index of Article XII 
Members increased over time, with about three -fourths of Article XII Members having experienced 
a rise in this indicator since a ccession.  
Figure 5: Average stability index for Article XII Members    
 
  
WT/ACC/ 40 • WT/GC/ 243 
 
- 27 - 
 
  121.  Geographical diversification of exports is also an important indicator of a country's integration 
in the global economy. Geographical export diversification can be assessed by calcul ating the 
average number of trading partners per product category . Figures 6 and 7 reveal that the average 
number of trading partners per product category of Article XII Members has increased historically 
as well as after accession as opposed to the years before accession. Almost 85% of acceded 
governments increased the average number of trading partners per product category since joining 
the WTO.  
 
Figure 6: Average number of trading partners per product category  
 
  
 
 
Figure 7: Average number of trading partners  per product category before and after 
accession  
 
 
 
WT/ACC/ 40 • WT/GC/ 243   
 
- 28 - 
 
  122.  Lastly, a product diversification index has been constructed by taking into account (i) the 
number of product categories (HS items) covered by a country's exports; (ii) the range of markets 
(the number of trading partners per product category); and (iii) the historical performance (the 
share of product categories exported consistently over a long -term period). Figure 8 depicts the 
evolution of the average product diversification index  for Article XII Members which has consistently 
followed an upward trajectory from 1998 to 2019. In addition, more than 87% of Article XII Members 
have witnessed an increase in the product diversification index since acceding to the WTO. These 
observations  lend support to the view that the WTO accession process and subsequent WTO 
membership have a positive effect on the trade and economic diversification and resilience of 
acceded Members.  
Figure 8: Product diversification index for Article XII Members over time 
 
 
 
 
  WT/ACC/ 40 • WT/GC/ 243  
 
- 29 - ANNEX 1 – ACCESSIONS DIVISION WORK INDICATORS (201 8-2021) 
  2018  2019  2020  2021  
Membership & Accessions  
New WTO member  0 0 0 0 
Acceding Government  
(New application)  21 
(0) 22 
(1) 23 
(1)+ 23 
(1) 
Active Accessions  16 14 16 16 
Accession -related Meetings & Missions  
Working Party (WP)  meetings  5 4 4 3 
Informal Group on Accessions ( IGA) 10 8 6 4 
Informal Group of Acceding Governments 
(IGAG ) 3 7 5 5 
Technical assistance & outreach  25 20 27 45* 
Trade for Peace  (T4P)  Programme  - - - 30* 
g7 plus WTO Accessions Group  - - - 8 
Missions  19 17 3 1 
Media coverage      Accessions  T4P Accessions  T4P 
Press Releases  10 12 15 5 12 11 
Tweets  - 100 243 - 169 158 
Document Outputs  
Newsletter  10 7 6 4 
Pages of acc. documents to WPs  2,647 2,106 1,759 1,645 
 
+ Turkmenistan applied as Observer  
* Counting methodology: all activities in 2021 including specific sessions covering different  topics  
Source:  Accessions Division internal data.  
   
  WT/ACC/ 40 • WT/GC/ 243 
 
- 30 - 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/ 40 • WT/GC/ 243 
 
- 31 - ANNEX 3 - WTO ACCESSIONS WORKING PARTY CHAIRPERSONS  
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 Pending  
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 H.E. Dr Elisabeth TICHY -FISSLBERGER (Austria)  Y 
7.  Bosnia and Herzegovina  15 July 1999 H.E. Mr. Atanas PAPARIZOV (Bulgaria)   Y 
8.  Comoros, Union of the  9 October  2007 H.E. Mr. Omar ZNIBER (Morocco)  Y 
9.  Curaçao  3 March 2020  H.E. Mr. Chad BLACKMAN ( Barbados)                                                                   Y 
10.  Equatorial Guinea  5 February  2008 Pending  
11.  Ethiopia  10 February  2003 H.E. Mr Morten JESPERSEN (Denmark)  Y 
12.  Iran 26 May 2005 Pending  
13.  Iraq 13 December  2004 H.E. Mr Omar HILALE (Morocco)  N 
14.  Lebanese Republic  14 April 1999 Mr. Etienne OUDOT DE DAINVILLE  (France)  Y 
15.  Libya 27 July 2004 Pending   
16.  Sao Tomé and Principe  26 May 2005 Pending  
17.  Serbia  15 February  2005 H.E. Mrs. Marie -Claire SWÄRD CAPRA (Sweden)  N 
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 Pending  
22.  Timor -Leste  7 December 2016  H.E. Mr. Rui MACIEIRA (Portugal)  Y 
23.  Uzbekistan  21 December  1994 H.E. Mr. Taeho LEE (Republic of Korea)  Y 
*  As of January 202 2. 
 WT/ACC/ 40 • WT/GC/ 243 
 
- 32 - 
 
  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/ 40 • WT/GC/ 243 
 
- 33 - ANNEX 5 – DATA ON LDC ACCESSION  
Table 5 -1: Policy Areas in which LDCs made commitments  
Working Party Report  LDC Commitment Coverage  
Monetary and Fiscal Policy  0 
Foreign Exchange and Payments  2 
Investment Regime  2 
State Ownership, Privatization and State -trading Entities  9 
Pricing Policies  9 
Competition policies  0 
Powers of Executive, Legislative and Judicial Branches of Government  1 
Government entities responsible for making and implementing policies affecting foreign trade; Right of appeal  9 
Division of authority between central and sub -central governments  5 
Registration requirements for import/export operations; Trading Rights  9 
Ordinary customs duties, customs tar iff 0 
Other duties and charges  9 
Tariff rate quotas, tariff exemptions  8 
Fees and charges for services rendered  9 
Application of internal taxes to imports  8 
Quantitative import restrictions, including prohibitions, quotas and licensing systems  9 
Customs valuation  9 
Rules of origin  9 
Other customs formalities  4 
Pre-shipment inspection  9 
Anti-dumping, countervailing duties, safeguard regimes  9 
Registration requirements, customs tariffs, fees and charges for services rendered, application of int ernal taxes to exports  3 
Export restrictions  6 
Export subsidies  3 
Industrial policy, including subsidies  8 
Technical barriers to trade, standards and certification  9 
Sanitary and phytosanitary measures  9 
Trade -Related Investment Measures (TRIMs)  9 
Free zones, special economic areas  9 
Government procurement  2 
Transit  7 
Agricultural policies  5 
Textiles Regime  2 
Trade Related Intellectual Property   9  
  WT/ACC/ 40 • WT/GC/ 243 
 
- 34 - Working Party Report  LDC Commitment Coverage  
Policies affecting trade in services  2 
Publication of information on trade  9 
Notifications  7 
Trade  agreements  8 
Total  236 
 
Table 5-2: Number of Members raising questions to Article XII LDCs on specific topics  
Questions received on:  Trade Facilitation  Customs Valuation  Anti-Dumping  SCM Import Ban  Total no. of Members 
asking questions  
Article XII LDCs    
Afghanistan  
Cambodia  
Cabo Verde  
Lao PDR  
Liberia  
Nepal  
Samoa  
Vanuatu  
Total   
1    
1 
4 1    
5  
1    
1 
3 1 1 1  
6 
2  
1   
3 
1 3   
1 5 
1     
1 
1 1    
2 
12 8 2 1 1 24 
 
Table 5 -3: Notifications submitted by Article XII Members to different WTO committees  
No. Committees/Council  
Afghanistan  
Cabo Verde  
Cambodia  
Lao PDR  
Liberia  
Nepal  
Samoa  
Vanuatu  
Yemen  
1 Committee on Trade Facilitation  2 1 5 5 3 4 2 3   
2 Committee on Market Access  3 3   1           
3 Committee on Import Licensing  1 3 3 3   2 1     
4 Customs Valuation Committee  1 4 3 1   1   1   
5 Committee on Rules of Origin  1   2 2 1 1 3 2 1 
6 Committee on Pre -Shipment Inspection  2     1           
7 Anti-Dumping Committee  2 1 1 3 1 2   2   
8 Committee on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures  4   3 4 1 3   2   
9 Committee on Safeguards  1   1 2 1 1   1   
10 TBT Committee  3   23 1 3 9 2 1 203 
11 SPS Committee  3 4   3 1 31     61  
  WT/ACC/ 40 • WT/GC/ 243 
 
- 35 - No. Committees/Council  
Afghanistan  
Cabo Verde  
Cambodia  
Lao PDR  
Liberia  
Nepal  
Samoa  
Vanuatu  
Yemen  
12 TRIMS Committee  1   2 1 1 14 1     
13 Working Party on State Trading Enterprise  1 1 1 1     1 1   
14 Committee on Agriculture  6 1 15 2     14 10   
15 TRIPS Council  1 4 1 1 1 1 5 13   
16 Council for Trade in Services  2   5 3   6 1     
17 Committee on RTAs   1 7 2 1   2     
18 Committee on Trade and Development  1   1     2       
  Total Notifications  35 23 73 36 14 77 32 36 265 
Source: WTO  
 
Table 5 -4: Trade Policy Reviews  of Article XII LDCs  
 
Art. XII countries  Date of TPR  Number of statements made by WTO Members  
Cabo Verde  6-8 October 2015  14 
Cambodia  1-3 November 2011  
21-23 November 2017  16 
24 
Lao PDR  18-20 November 2019  24 
Nepal  13-15 March 2012  
3-5 December 2018  18 
22 
Samoa  10-12 April 2019  18 
Vanuatu  23-25 October 2018  18 
Source: WTO  
   
  WT/ACC/ 40 • WT/GC/ 243 
 
- 36 - Table 5 -5: Article XII LDC participation in TPRs  
Article XII LDCs  Participation in Trade Policy Reviews  
Afghanistan  11 
Cambodia  20 
Cabo Verde  2 
Lao PDR  10 
Liberia  0 
Nepal  20 
Samoa  3 
Vanuatu  11 
Yemen  6 
Total  83 
Source: WTO  
Table 5-6: Participation of Article XII LDCs in JSIs and Membership of Plurilateral Agreements  
 
Art. XII LDC Member  Participation in JSIs  Submissions in 
JSIs Plurilateral 
Agreements  
1 Afghanistan  1. Investment Facilitation for Development  
2. MSMEs  - ITA 
GPA (Observer)  
2 Cabo Verde  1. Investment Facilitation for Development  
2. Trade and Environmental Sustainability Structured Discussions (TESSD)  
3. Informal Dialogue on Plastic Pollution and Environmentally Sustainable Plastics Trade (IDP)  - - 
3 Cambodia  1. Investment Facilitation for Development  
2. Informal Dialogue on Plastic Pollution and Environmentally Sustainable Plastics Trade (IDP)  INF/IFD/RD/831 
INF/IFD/RD/792 - 
4 Lao PDR  1. E-Commerce  
2. Investment Facilitation for Development  
3. MSMEs  INF/IFD/RD/813 
INF/IFD/RD/844 ITA and ITA Expansion  
5 Liberia  1. Investment Facilitation for Development  - - 
6 Nepal  - - - 
7 Samoa  - - - 
8 Vanuatu  1. Investment Facilitation for Development  
2. Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform  
3. Informal Dialogue on Plastic Pollution and Environmentally Sustainable Plastics Trade (IDP)  - - 
9 Yemen              - - - 
 
1  Cambodia's specific comments on provisions of the 'Easter Text' and text proposals on the Preamble; 'Cross -border co -operation on investment facilitation'; and 'Sustainable 
Investment' (1 September 2021)  
2  Cambodia's Text Proposal on Measures Against Corru ption (16 July 2021)  
3  Lao PDR's specific comments on several provisions of the 'Easter Text' and text proposals on 'General Principles'; 'Technical  Assistance and Capacity Building'; and 'Supplier -
Development Programmes' (5 August 2021)  
4  Lao PDR's spec ific comments on Section V of the 'Easter Text (Rev.1)' Supplemental submission with respect to its submission contained in d ocument INF/IFD/RD/81, dated 
5 August 2021 (22 September 2021)   
  WT/ACC/ 40 • WT/GC/ 243 
 
- 37 -  
Table 5 -7: Ar ticle XII LDC Involvement as Third Party to WTO Disputes  
No Country Name  As Complainant  As Respondent  As Third Party  
1 Afghanistan  0 0 3 (DS576, DS538, DS526)  
2 Yemen  0 0 2 (DS567, DS526)  
Source: WTO  
 
Table 5 -8: Participants from Article XII LDCs in WTO capacity building programmes  
Countries  UP to 2018 both online 
and face to face training  2019 -2021 face to face training  2019 -2021 online training   Total CB/TA  
Afghanistan  389 149 112 650 
Cabo Verde  286 5 4 295 
Cambodia  783 63 161 1,007 
Lao PDR 873 55 64 992 
Liberia  363 12 35 410 
Nepal  1,137 32 263 1,432 
Samoa  959 66 32 1,057 
Vanuatu  551 57 125 733 
Yemen  759 6 15 780 
Total  6,100 445 811 7,356 
Average  678 49 90 817 
Source: WTO  
 
 
 
  
  WT/ACC/ 40 • WT/GC/ 243 
 
- 38 - ANNEX 6 – BASIC ECONOMIC PROFILES OF ACCEDING GOVERNMENTS AND ARTICLE XII MEMBERS  
Table 6 -1: Accedi ng 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  43,851.04  144,294 3,768 1,010 26.8 21,617  35,122  3,053 7,743 
Andorra  77.27  No data available  
Azerbaijan  10,093.12  42,607  4,595 1,917 41.7 13,470  10,731  2,594  5,386  
The Bahamas  393.25  11,250 33,115 10,750  32.5 354 1,937 1,253  1,196 
Belarus  9,379.95  60,201 6,507 4,231  65.0 29,034  32,601  8,775  4,927  
Bhutan  771.61  2,503 3,337 1,349 40.4 651 899 133 215 
Bosnia and 
Herzegovina  3,280.82  19,389 6,036 2,824 46.8 6,152 9,873  1,306  511 
Comoros, Union of 
the* 869.60  1,222 1,370 2774 20.64 21 280 65 96 
Curaçao  155.01  No data available  271 1,210 731 510 
Equatorial Guinea  1,402.98  9,524 8,291 4,1755 41.85 3,200 1,724 5126 2,0096 
Ethiopia*  114,963.58  96,611 939 136 14.5 3,258  13,115  4,318 5,375 
Iran 83,992.95  635,724 6,700 797 11.9 53,543  38,757  4,482 6,838 
Iraq 40,222.50  172,119 5,210 1,763 33.8 41,738  44,484  3,499  13,679  
Lebanese Republic  6,825.44  19,126 6,166 3,7054 47.34 4,085 11,355  4,985  5,734  
Libya  6,871.29  21,797 5,222 3,4124 59.84 7,741 13,396 1347 6,5387 
Sao Tome and 
Principe*  219.16  418 1,963 565 28.8 14 136 24 41 
Serbia  6,908.22  52,960 7,426 4,011  54.0 19,498 26,233 7,042 5,758  
Somalia*  15,893.22  No data available  4157 1,5557 
South Sudan*  11,193.73  4,074 321 225 70.2 No data available  99 1,118 
Sudan*  43,849.27  34,370 801 166 20.7 3,803 9,838 1,226 1,198 
 
1 For the year 2020. Source: World Bank, Population: All Countries a nd Economies, available at https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL  (accessed in January 
2022).  
2 For 2020 unless otherwise indicated.  
3 For 2018 –2020 unless otherwise indicated.  
4 For 2017 –2019.  
5 For 2015 –2017.  
6 For 2017.  
7 For 2019.   
  WT/ACC/ 40 • WT/GC/ 243 
 
- 39 - 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)  
Syrian Arab 
Republic  17,500.66  60,0438 2,6429 8679 32.89 868 5,418  2,43410 2,81810 
Timor -Leste*  1,318.44  1,791  1,384 369 26.7 264 625 33 209 
Uzbekistan  34,232.05  57,706  1,661 591 35.6 13,097 19,932  1,693  3,483  
 
Table 6-2: 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*  38,928.34  19,132 583 136 23.4 732 7,171  597 1,042  
Albania  2,837.74  15,147 5,298 1,862 35.1 2,506  5,570  2,474  1,254  
Armenia  2,963.23  12,339 4,319 1,865 43.2 2,544  4,559  1,076  947 
Bulgaria  6,934.02  68,561 9,750 5,955 61.1 31,907 35,038 8,116 4,735 
Cabo Verde  555.99  1,753 3,454 1,783 51.6 53 720 264 204 
Cambodia*  16,718.97  25,953 1,649 1,376 83.5 17,215 19,131 1,815 2,045 
China  1,410,929.36  14,722,840 10,216 1,7974 18.64 2,590,221 2,057,217 278,084 377,528 
Croatia  4,047.20  56,925 14,675 7,230  49.3 17,167 26,719 9,714 3,932 
Ecuador  17,643.06  96,665 6,029 1,401 23.2 20,227 17,959 1,649 2,685 
Estonia  1,331.06  31,005 23,410 16,634  71.1 16,381 17,341 6,419 6,190 
Georgia  3,714.00  15,733 4,554 2,452 53.9 3,343 8,053 1,503 1,401 
Jordan  10,203.14  43,481 4,342 1,723 39.7 7,943 17,011 2,322 2,903 
Kazakhstan  18,754.44  164,792 9,406 2,913 31.0 46,447 37,222 4,837 7,969 
Kyrgyz Republic  6,591.60  7,471 1,263 624 49.4 2,006 3,688 439 555 
Lao PDR*  7,275.56  19,078 2,607 948 36.4 6,115 5,370 346 444 
Latvia  1,901.55  33,478 17,700 10,735  60.6 16,201 18,363 4,989 2,940 
Liberia*  5,057.68  3,033 682 194 28.4 608 1,102  10 224 
Lithuania  2,794.70  55,688 19,551 14,215 72.7 32,767 33,140 12,253 6,504 
Moldova  2,620.49  11,500 4,321 1,809 41.9 2,485 5,416 1,250 859 
 
8 For 2010.  
9 For 2008 -2010 
10 For 2011.  
 
 
 
  
  WT/ACC/ 40 • WT/GC/ 243 
 
- 40 - 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)  
Mongolia  3,278.29  13,137 4,072 2,465 60.5 7,576  5,294  651 2,083  
Montenegro  621.31  4,790 8,481 4,310 50.8 419 2,402  758 545 
Nepal*  29,136.81  34,465 1,192 268 22.5 856 9,856  830 1,074  
North Macedonia  2,072.53  12,288 6,025 4,016  66.7 6,635  8,710  1,643 1,118 
Oman  5,106.62  63,192 16,049 8,3404 50.74 31,685  20,960  1,830 5,539 
Panama  4,314.77  52,938 14,589 5,942  40.7 9,483  14,740  8,502  3,009  
Russian Federation  144,104.08  1,473,580 10,937 2,687 24.6 332,227  240,380  46,707  63,435  
Samoa  198.41  804 4,134 1,8334 43.54 37 312 214 110 
Saudi Arabia  34,813.87  701,467 22,305 6,470 29.0 173,854  137,998  9,637  38,201  
Seychelles  98.46 1,131 14,767 16,185 109.6 432 1,004  651 489 
Chinese Taipei  11 668,510 26,690 15,074  56.5 347,193  288,053  40,992  37,306  
Tajikistan  9,537.64  7,997 848 242 28.5 1,407  3,151  136 404 
Tonga  105.70  514 5,057 2,056  40.7 15 229 71 89 
Ukraine  44,134.69  151,543 3,485 1,556 44.6 49,220  53,929  15,224  10,035  
Vanuatu   307.15  864 3,093 1,5225 50.95 46 301 130 141 
Viet Nam  97,338.58  340,821 3,377 2,35912 100.012 282,575  262,620  18,677  16,914  
Yemen*  29,825.97  20,140 697 25413 18.513 1,204  7,399  2417 1,8487 
  LDCs  
Source:  WTO Stats Portal (accessed  in January 2022) , 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.  
 
 
 
 
11 Data unavailable.  
12 For 2016 –2018.  
13 For 2014 –2016.   
  WT/ACC/ 40 • WT/GC/ 243 
 
- 41 - ANNEX 7 – DATA ON TRADE PERFORMANCE  
Table 7-1: Value of merchandise trade and annual percentage change (1995 –2020) 
(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%  15.0%  15.5%  
 
(Billion dollars and percentage)  
    2008  2009  2010  2011  2012  2013  2014  2015  2016  2017  2018  2019  2020  
Article XII 
Members  Value  5,122  3,998  5,278  6,577  6,929  7,271  7,327  6,345  5,947  6,758  7,641  7,599 7,440  
Annual 
percentage 
change  21.5%  -21.9%  32.0%  24.6%  5.3%  4.9%  0.8%  -13.4%  -6.3%  13.6%  13.1% -0.6% -2.1%  
World  Value  32,668  25,280  30,742  36,781  37,176  37,938  38,074  33,297  32,259  35,734  39,398 38,309 35,447 
Year-on-year 
percentage 
change  15.4%  -22.6%  21.6%  19.6%  1.1%  2.0%  0.4%  -12.5%  -3.1%  10.8%  10.3% -2.8%  -7.5%  
 
Source:  WTO Stats Portal (accessed in January 2022).   
   
  WT/ACC/ 40 • WT/GC/ 243 
 
- 42 - Table 7-2: Value of trade in commercial services* and annual percentage change (1995 –2020) 
(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   8.6%  12.5%  -6.3%  0.7%  12.1%  4.7%  12.9%  15.8%  27.2%  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  5,847  6,967  
Year-on-year 
percentage 
change   7.1%  3.7%  0.9%  4.9%  6.1%  0.7%  6.2%  15.4%  20.6%  17.8%  12.9%  19.2%  
 
(Billion dollars and percentage)  
    2008  2009  2010  2011  2012  2013  2014  2015  2016  2017  2018  2019  2020  
Article XII 
Members  Value  755 671 788 929 1,009  1,109  1,229  1,158  1,165  1,249  1,405  1,418  1,090  
Annual 
percentage 
change  18.1%  -11.0%  17.4%  17.8%  8.6%  10.0%  10.8%  -5.8%  0.6%  7.2%  12.5%  0.9%  -23.1%  
World  Value  7,857  7,039  7,668  8,613  8,896  9,431  10,195  9,722  9,849  10,687  11,700  12,002  9,510  
Year-on-year 
percentage 
change  12.8%  -10.4%  8.9%  12.3%  3.3%  6.0%  8.1%  -4.6%  1.3%  8.5%  9.5%  2.6%  -20.8%  
 
*  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 20 22). WT/ACC/ 40 • WT/GC/ 243 
 
- 43 - 
 
  ANNEX 8 – ACCESSIONS MANAGEMENT  
Accession Working Party Management - 2021  
Accession Working Party  Code  Secretary  Co-Secretary  Administrative 
Manager/Support  
1. Algeria  DZA Tvarusko  Miashiro  Tandara -Stenier  
2. Andorra  AND accessions@wto.org  - No Activity   
3. Azerbaijan  AZE Rasulov  
 Marinov  Tandara -Stenier  
4. Bahamas  BHS Tvarusko  Miashiro  Tandara -Stenier  
5. Belarus  BLR Bratanov  
 Tvarusko  
 Wardak  
6. Bhutan*  BTN Rasulov    Tran Tandara -Stenier  
7. Bosnia and Herzegovina  BIH Varyanik  
 Tvarusko  Tandara -Stenier  
8. Comoros*  COM Bratanov  Soumaré  
Tvarusko  Tandara -Stenier  
9. Curaçao  CUW Bratanov  Miashiro  
 Tandara -Stenier  
10. Equatorial Guinea  GNQ Perez -Esteve  Soumaré  
Miashiro  Wardak  
11. Ethiopia*  ETH Tvarusko  
 Soumaré  
Jibril 
Miashiro  Wardak  
12. Iran 
 IRN Varyanik  Tran Tandara -Stenier  
13. Iraq IRQ Hassan  
 Jibril 
Avayiwoe  Wardak  
14. Lebanese Republic  LBN Hassan  
 Avayiwoe  Tandara -Stenier  
15. Libya  LBY Bratanov  
 Tran Wardak  
16. Sao Tome et Principe*  STP Pérez -Esteve  Soumaré  
Miashiro  Wardak  
17. Serbia  
 SRB Varyanik  Tvarusko  Tandara -Stenier  
18. Somalia*  SOM Perez -Esteve  Soumaré  
Jibril 
Avayiwoe  Wardak  
19. South Sudan*  SSD Perez -Esteve  Soumaré  
Avayiwoe  Wardak  
20. Sudan*  SDN Hassan  Soumaré  
Jibril 
Avayiwoe  Tandara -Stenier  
21. Syrian Arab Republic  
 SYR Perez -Esteve  Tran Wardak  
22. Timor -Leste*  
 TLS Varyanik  Tran Wardak  
23. Uzbekistan  UZB Rasulov  
 Marinov  
Tran Tandara -Stenier  
Notes: * Least -developed countries (LDCs)  
Observer  
Country  Code  Focal Point  Co-Focal Point  Administrative 
Manager/Support  
1. Turkmenistan  TKM Varyanik  Marinov  
Rasulov  Tandara -Stenier  
 
ACCESSIONS STAFF DISPOSITION 20 21 
 
− Director;  
− Eight Professionals;  
− Two Administrative Managers; and  
− Four rotating interns under the WTO Accessions Internship Programme  
 
__________