. /.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/MIN(05)/ST/60 
15 December 2005 
 (05-6043) 
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE 
Sixth Session Hong Kong, 13 - 18 December 2005 Original:   English 
 
  
TAJIKISTAN 
 
Statement Circulated by Right Honourable Khakim Soliev
 
Minister of Economy and Trade  
 
(As an Observer) 
 
 
 On behalf of the Government of the Republic  of Tajikistan and my delegation, I'd like to 
express sincere gratitude to His Excellency Mr Do nald Tsang, to the Government and people of 
Hong K ong for their warm reception and hospitality.  Allo w me also to convey my  sincerest thanks to 
Director-General, Mr Pascal Lamy for leadersh ip and to his staff for the preparatory work. 
  The Government of the Republic of Tajikistan supports the basic principles and norms of the 
WTO, defining legal base of multilateral trading syst em which are especially important for developing 
and least developed countries.  The multilateral tr ading system, however, should provide for increased 
opportunities for their effective participation in worl d trade and creation of a fair and predictable and 
rule-based trading system. The Government of the Re public of Tajikistan defines the key role of trade 
development in poverty reduc tion and increasing welfare of the people of country. 
 
 Tajikistan puts lot of hope for a successful outcome to the Ministerial Meeting which would enable us to finalize the Doha Development Agenda negotiations by the end of 2006.  It is important 
that the outcome truly emphasizes the need for accommodating the concerns of the developing and 
least developed countries.  The Do ha Agenda should aim on achieving targets of the Millennium 
Development Goals and therefore, development issu es should be at the heart of the negotiations. 
 
 WTO accession is of prime importance for the Government of Tajikistan.  The legislative and economic reforms to integrate the country into the multilateral trading system are well under way and the Government is determined to take the necessary measures to achieve this goal.  There is a strong 
political will to become a market-based economy that  is fully integrated into the world economy. 
WTO accession procedure is a strong catalyst for our reform efforts. 
  Tajikistan has been implementing a very ambiti ous privatization plan.  In accordance with the 
approved Strategic Plan on privatization of Stat e property in the Republic, the process of small 
privatization has already been completed and the process of privatization of medium and large scale 
state-owned-enterprises are under way.  The main ai m of the mentioned Strategic Plan is a staged 
privatization of all medium and large scale state- owned enterprises by the end of 2007 except for a 
few natural monopolies, which will further enhance market reforms carried out by the Government. 
  My Government made great efforts to make national legislation to conform with WTO rules 
and norms.  At present, improved legal framework is being established in the country, making it 
compliant with the international law.  The Gove rnment is working actively to make a regulatory 
framework conducive to the private sector and to  establish a competitive environment.  New trade-
related legislation, such as the Customs Code, Ta x Code and Civil Code have been adopted and a WT/MIN(05)/ST/60 
Page 2  
 
 number of new laws on intellectual property rights ha ve been enacted to meet the WTO requirements.  
Other necessary amendments of laws are being expeditiously worked out.   The most time consuming and most important part of the accession process along with the adaptation to the WTO principles, is the real chal lenge to effectively implement the rules at an 
administrative level.  Making foreign trade re gime to conform to WTO rules should deepen 
transparency of procedures and processes of important decisions making.   It is for this reason that Members have to  show understanding and tolerance in the accession 
process towards countries at a low level of institu tional market development. WTO membership is 
extremely important for the motivation of the peopl e and changing their mentality. The changes are a 
challenge to each individual involved both in the private sector and in the government. A lot of hopes 
are attached to WTO membership.  If the process ta kes too long a time, the motivation for reform will 
fade domestically.  
 The newly observed trend of WTO Members to  make it almost impossible for developing 
countries to negotiate transitional periods for the implementation of the WTO rules is maybe 
understandable, but could become counterproductive.   This delays the accession process for reasons 
which in many cases do not have much practical sense for the countries at low level of development. 
  Tajikistan therefore appeals to Members to show  flexibility regarding the need for transitional 
periods for the implementation of some of the rule s which do not have much practical influence in 
countries of low level of development. This is very important for an efficient and realistic integration 
of these countries into the world trading system and would support them in using WTO accession to achieve their development goals.  
 This being said, the Government of Tajikista n is determined to c ontinue to make the 
necessary changes and the economic reforms in a thorough and effective manner with the aim of 
membership before the end of 2007.   We take this opportunity to congratulate Saudi  Arabia and Tonga on their new membership 
and we look forward to join them as WTO Members in the not too distant future. 
 
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