RESTRICTED  
  
JOB/ACC/COM/7  
13 October  2017 
(17-5525) Page: 1/3 
Working Party on the Accession  
of the Union of the Comoros  Original:  French  
 
  
ACCESSION OF THE UNION OF THE COMOROS  
STATEMENT BY H.E.  MR SULTAN CHOUZOUR, AMBASSADOR, PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE, 
MISSION OF THE UNION OF THE COMOROS  
Third Meeting of the Working Party on the Accession of the Union of the Comoros  
12 October  2017 
Thank you Mr Chairman.  
Esteemed Chairman of the Working Party , 
Members of the Working Party,  
Ladies and Gentlemen,  
 
1.  Let me begin by conveying the warmest greetings of His Excellency Mr Djaffar Ah med Said 
Hassani, Vice -President of the Union of the Comoros, who regrets that he was unable to be here 
with us in Geneva for this third meeting of the Working Party to which he attaches the utmost 
importance.  
2.  It is on his behalf , in his capacity as head o f the negotiations , that I am taking the floor here to 
open the discussions , which I hope will lead the Comoros as smoothly as possible t o accession to 
the World Trade Organization.  
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,  
 
3.  We are now close to the end of the lo ng and difficult journey towards the objective we had set 
ourselves at the first meeting of the Working Party, namely the accession of the Comoros to the 
WTO on the occasion of the 11th WTO Ministerial Conference in December  2017 – that is, one year 
after the effective launching of the negotiations . It was a bold challenge from the start, and now 
we have reached a critical point.  
4.  However, a number of obstacles  remain , owing in particular to a problem introduced by a 
partner at the end of the negotiating rou nd that had never been raised before and which go es 
beyond the traditional framework of the bilateral market access negotiations . While we are deeply 
perplexed, we remain determined to overcome all obstacles, however daunting, including the one 
facing us a s we begin this meeting . At the same time, we are confident and we trust in our 
partners to explore with us all of the ways and means to find negotiated solutions in a calm and 
constructive spirit.  
5.  Besides, none of this casts any doubts on the work accompl ished and the progress made to 
date. 
6.  The mere fact that we are holding this third meeting of the Working Party before the end of this 
year is already a considerable victory , reflecting the appreciable and appreciated efforts that have 
been made over the la st few months.  
7.  This victory belongs to all of the partners involved in the accession process, i.e. the Technical 
Committee, the Permanent Mission of the Comoros in Geneva, the WTO Accessions Division, and 
the Chairman of the Working Party , H.E. Mr Chávez B asagoitia.  JOB/ACC/COM/7  
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  8.  Our negotiating team s have spared no effort in fulfilling their mission : they answered all of the 
questions asked  at the second meeting of the Working Party within the allotted time.  
9.  Our delegates at this third meeting have been here for four days now in order to pursue the 
discussions and provide the clarifications requested by some of the  partners . So far, this has all 
been taking place in the best possible conditions.  
10.  Thus, we hope to bring our bilateral discussions with the United States, the European Union 
and Canada to a successful conclusion  within a reasonable time -frame.  
11.  We have done our utmost to secure our accession on the occasion of the 11th WTO Ministerial 
Conference in Buenos Aires next December . But if that were not to happen – and indeed, we  are 
aware of the problems that still remain to be solved – we shall remain every bit as committed to 
solving the remaining problems during the first half of 2018 if possible.  
12.  I am founding my cautious optimism on the results obtained thanks to the enormous efforts 
accomplished these past few months.  
13.  Indeed, I am happy to be able to announce that bilateral agreements have now been signed 
with Brazil, Ja pan and the Sultanate of Oman.  
14.  We are particularly grateful to those three countries . Their signatures are a clear testimony to 
the quality of the work done by our officials ; they p rovide us with moral support that is 
encouraging to us and , we hope to our partners as well.  
Esteemed Ladies and Gentlemen,  
 
15.  We see no need at this point to go into the subjects that are still being debated . They will be 
brought to our attention  during the forthcoming discussions in the form of questions or requests 
for clarifica tion. 
16.  Our delegation will do its best to reply, and if it is not able to do so, the answers will be 
provided as quickly as possible.  
17.  In order to save time, we decided that part of our delegation should extend its stay in Geneva 
to facilitate consultations with partners involved in drafting the replies to the questions posed . We 
believe that by providing proper and pertinent replies to these questions, our delegation will help 
to move the negotiations forward and thus contribute to our partners' confidence i n our ability to 
face the demands that our accession to the WTO will impose upon us.  
18.  Once again, all of this work would not have been possible without the support we obtain ed 
from partners such as China, the Enhanced Integrated Framework and the UNDP, and we would 
like to thank them for their contribution.  
19.  The role played by the Sultanate of Oman and its contribution to the success of this process 
deserves to be highlighted, and we would like to convey to them and their Permanent Mission in 
Geneva our deepe st gratitude.  
20.  We hope that , as promised, the People's Republic of China will support us once again if our 
work were to continue  beyond December  2017. The Sultanate of Oman has already expressed its 
willingness to do so.  
21.  Our thanks also go to His Excellency  Ambassador Chávez, Chairman of the Working Party, 
who worked very efficiently to make sure the negotiations progressed perfectly smoothly from 
every point of view.  
22.  The WTO, through its Accessions Division, has been a remarkable partner in bringing these 
negotiations to a conclusion, and has been efficient in meeting our expectations while at the same 
time enabling us to benefit from t heir wealth of experience in accession matters . We hope that 
they will continue to support  us with the same commitment and efficiency , and we would like to 
thank them in advance.  JOB/ACC/COM/7  
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  23.  Let me also take this opportunity to thank , once again , His Excellency the WTO 
Director -General , who has reassured me every time we met of his concrete  and effective 
commitment to our cause.  
24.  Before co ncluding, I must also assure you of the commitment of the Government of the Union 
of the Comoros and its Head of State, the President of the Union, His Excellency Mr Azali 
Assoumani, to doing all that is possible to ensure that the Comoros accede as a full  Member of the 
World Trade Organization as rapidly as possible.  
Thank you for your encouraging  attention.  
 
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