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on Republic of Armenia
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In his address to the Council, Armenian Prime Minister Andranik
Margaryan said that acceding to the WTO was a historic occasion.
“After the
declaration of independence, the foreign economic and trade policy of
Armenia has been directed towards integration into the world economy,
stimulation of exports, attraction of investments and intensification
of the cooperation with international organizations”, he said.
After
the Council’s decision, Karen Chshmaritian, Minister of Trade and
Economic Development, in a ceremony attended by WTO Director-General
Supachai Panitchpakdi, signed the Protocol of Accession to formally
complete the negotiating process.
Dr.
Supachai welcomed the conclusion of Armenia’s negotiations which
started in 1993 and said he was looking forward to Armenia becoming a
full and active Member of the Organization.
“This
is a very significant event for Armenia and for the multilateral
trading system”, the Director-General said. “Since achieving
independence, Armenia embarked on a comprehensive process of
democratisation, economic liberalization and market reform in which
membership of the WTO is a decisive milestone. With Armenia’s
accession, the WTO makes another important step in the goal of
embracing all nations engaged in international trade”.
The
Protocol of Accession is now subject to the ratification of Armenia’s
Parliament. Thirty days after the Secretariat receives official
notification of this ratification, the country will become a Member of
the WTO.
In 2001,
the Gross Domestic Product by sector was composed as follows :
Agriculture 28%, Services 35% and Industry 37%. Armenia’s foreign
trade for the year 2001 was exports US$343 million and
imports US$874 million .
According
to official figures, in 2001 Armenia’s GDP growth rate was 9,6%
and was expected to reach 12% in 2002.
The
Armenian delegation was composed of Prime Minister Margaryan, Mr.
Chshmaritian Minister of Trade and Economic Development, Mr. Vardan
Khachatryan Minister of Finance and Economy, Mr. Armen Avetisyan
Chairman of Customs Committee, Mr. Hovhannes Hovhannisyan Chairman of
Permanent Commission on Foreign Relations in the Parliament, Mr.
Tigran Davtyan Deputy Minister of Trade and Economic Development , and
other senior government officials.
Among
former Soviet Union Republics, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Georgia,
Moldova, and the Kyrgyz Republic are also members of the WTO.
Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation, Tajikistan,
Ukraine and Uzbekistan are all in the process of negotiating their
terms of accession.
There
are now 25 countries in negotiations for accession to the WTO :
Algeria, Andorra, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Belarus, Bhutan, Bosnia
Herzegovina, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Kazakhstan, Lao People’s
Democratic Republic, Lebanese Republic, Nepal, Russian Federation,
Samoa, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Sudan, Tajikistan, Tonga, Ukraine,
Uzbekistan, Viet Nam, Yemen and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
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H.E.
Mr. Karen Chshmaritian, Minister of Trade and Economic Development of
Armenia, signs Armenia's Protocol of Accession. Behind him is Prime
Minister Margaryan who also came to Geneva to attend the General
Council and Signing Ceremony.
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