RESTRICTED  
  
JOB/ACC/COM/4  
 
4 April 2017  
(17-1830) Page: 1/3 
Working Party on the Accession of  
the Union of the Comoros  Original: English  
 
ACCESSION OF THE UNI ON OF THE COMOROS  
REPORT BY AMBASSADOR  LUIS ENRIQUE CHÁVEZ BASAGOITIA,  
CHAIRPERSON OF THE WO RKING PARTY  
3rd Meeting of the Informal Group on Accessions (IGA)  
Tuesday , 4 April 2017 , 9:00 am  
1. Good morning.  
2. I welcome this opportunity to re port once again to the Informal Group on Accessions on the 
Accession of the Union of the Comoros since my last report to you last October. As this accession 
process begins to gather steam,  I look forward to my regular interaction with this Group and to 
your guidance and support. I hope that we can use this platform effectively in order to steer this 
process to a successful conclusion.  
3. The purpose of my report this morning is three -fold: 
- First, to report from my recent visit to Moroni on 8 -10 March;  
- Second , to indicate how we can move forward on the Accession of Comoros, 
targeting its conclusion by MC11;  
- And lastly , to respond to any questions or comments.  
1  REPORT FROM THE VISI T TO MORONI ON 8 -10 MARCH  
4. At the invitation of the Government of the Union of Como ros, I visited Moroni, for the first 
time, last month, accompanied by the Accessions Division. I had the opportunity to meet with the 
President; the Ministers of the Interior, Finance and Foreign Affairs; as well as the Secretary 
General of the Government.  These meetings reaffirmed the high level of commitment and 
engagement of the Comorian Government and its determination to finalize accession negotiations 
by MC11. To the Comorian authorities, membership of the WTO is central to the country's future 
socio-economic development.  
5. We also met with the Deputy Speaker of Parliament and the Vice -Chairs  of the Finance and 
Foreign Affairs Committees. These meetings confirmed that there is also support in the legislature 
to enact WTO -consistent legislation as soon a s possible. In fact, the passage of WTO -related 
legislation is already on the agenda of the next legislative session, which starts this month. 
The legislation package will include areas such as: (i) competition law; (ii) intellectual property - 
namely the ratification of the Bangui Agreement; (iii) codes on fisheries and agriculture; (iv) a 
revised SPS law; (v) trade remedy legislation; (vi) Codex Alimentarius; (vii) a law on economic 
zones; and (viii) a law on import and exporting licensing.  
6. We also had an  opportunity to exchange views with representatives from the private sector, 
including the President of the Chamber of Commerce. The business community pled ged its full 
support to the Government's WTO accession effort. They see WTO membership as an opportu nity 
to improve the business environment, by integrating with global markets and adopting 
international practices and standards. They also stressed the importance of post -accession 
implementation, where appropriate support would be needed.  JOB/ACC/COM/4  
 
- 2 - 
 
  7. We also met with  the Resident Representative of the IMF. We discussed how VAT reform 
would be central to the reform agenda as it would streamline the current system of collecting 
multiple taxes at the border.  The implementation of a VAT will take some time, as it will inc lude: 
development of legislation; identification of businesses for VAT registration; and capacity -building 
of the tax administration.  As a follow -up to this meeting, upon our return in Geneva, a letter from 
DG Azevêdo was sent to the Managing Director of t he IMF (Christine Lagarde) to mobilize technical 
assistance from the IMF in this regard.  
8. The visit to Moroni also included a roundtable meeting with the National Committee on WTO 
Accession. This body was set up to steer the country towards WTO Membership  and consists of 
about 35 representatives drawn from the responsible government agencies, members of 
parliament, the private sector, and academia . This was a good opportunity to take stock of where 
the accession process stands, discuss the reasons for joinin g the WTO, and exchange views on 
ongoing developments here in the Organization. With assistance from the Secretariat, we also 
discussed the specifics of LDC accessions and presented an overview  of commitments on both 
WTO rules and market access undertaken by Article XII LDCs.  
9. In addition to, and in parallel to these meetings, the Secretariat conducted a number of 
working sessions with the Comorian technical team to assist in the preparation of inputs for the 
next cycle of Working Party meetings . I understan d that these technical meetings followed up on 
earlier technical discussions, which had taken place  via videoconference in early March. 
The discussions addressed technical inconsistencies in the market access offers on goods and 
services, and factual gaps and inconsistencies in the draft replies to questions raised by Members 
following the first Meeting of the Working Party . 
2  NEXT STEPS  
10. As regards next steps, the delegation of Comoros is currently finalizing the submission of 
revised inputs for the Second me eting of the Working Party, including replies to Members' 
questions, a revised Legislative Action Plan, a revised TRIPS checklist and revised market access 
offers on goods and services . These will be processed and translated into English by the 
Secretariat  before circulation to the Working Party. In parallel, the Secretariat is preparing the 
Factual Summary of Points Raised, in English, based on the revised documentation submitted by 
Comoros since the visit to Moroni. It is my understanding that the aim is to circulate these 
documents to the Working Party before the Easter break, i.e. 13 April. Members will then have 
time to study the revised inputs before the next Working Party meeting. This second Working 
Party meeting should take place towards the middle of May, in accordance with the roadmap which 
was shared with the Working Party at its last meeting.   
11. As for progress on market access negotiations, the delegation of Comoros has indicated that 
it would be in a position to begin signing the first set of bi lateral market access agreements on the 
margins of the next Working Party meeting.  
12. Let me remind you again that Comoros has set the target of MC11 for the conclusion of its 
accession negotiations. The roadmap adopted by Moroni - which has been inspired by Liberia's 
WTO accession process - is based on the premise that the acceding government and WTO 
Members engage in an intensive negotiating process, with technical work facilitated by the 
Secretariat.     
13. The message I received in my meetings in Moroni was c lear and simple: Comoros is fully 
engaged, mobilized and committed – at both political and technical levels - to becoming a Member 
of the WTO by the end of this year. It is therefore my intention to continue to work closely and 
intensively with the delegat ion of Comoros, and with WTO Members, to support Comoros in 
pursuing its objective of concluding accession negotiations by MC11.  In particular, I  count on the 
support of the members of the IGA family. I also call on you to remain mindful of the constraint s 
faced by LDC acceding governments.  For instance, Comoros is a French -speaking LDC, but in 
some cases, it has had to work in English to engage with Members more effectively and to respect 
the timelines that have been set. This adds a burden to an adminis tration already working to the 
maximum of its capacity.  JOB/ACC/COM/4  
 
- 3 - 
 
  14. Based on the information that is available to me at this stage and that I presented to you 
here today, I  believe that Comoros' objective to conclude accession negotiations by MC11 is 
achievable. The G overnment of Comoros is fully aware that the pace of the accession process 
would be set by the acceding government. In particular, that technical inputs would need to be 
comprehensive and submitted in a timely manner. During my visit to Moroni, I also stre ssed the 
importance of sending a strong political message through the national administration requesting 
officials to redouble their efforts on the technical front. I received at the highest level of the 
Comorian Government  – and by this I mean at the leve l of the Head of State - that no effort will 
be spared to meet the target. I hope that WTO Members would show support for a streamlined 
process, and will respond in a similar way to these efforts of the Comorian authorities.  
15. I have already reported to DG Azevêdo and he has assured me that the Secretariat 
resources have been fully mobilized in support of this accession process - including the translation 
of key legislation into English, to allow Members to work more effectively.  
16. As Chairperson, it is my int ention to stay involved and keep the IGA abreast of relevant 
developments in the process over the coming months.  
3  FEEDBACK AND QUESTIO NS 
17. I am ready to respond to any questions you may have. If, after  this meeting, you have any 
further questions, I ask that you channel them through the Accessions Division.  
18. Thank you.  
 
__________