Iraq's accession to the World Trade Organization: The United Nations confirms tangible progress
Joining the World Trade Organization is witnessing clear progress, according to the United Nations International Trade Centre, with the completion of key technical and regulatory stages at both the local and international levels.
The International Trade Centre, a United Nations agency, confirmed that Iraq has made clear progress in its steps towards joining the organization.
Eric Bochot, the director of the International Trade Centre’s programs in Iraq, affiliated with the United Nations, said : “The process of Iraq’s accession to the World Trade Organization is still ongoing, and has seen progress in several important stages at both the national and international levels.”
Bushot added that this progress includes the establishment and reactivation of the Iraq Working Group at the World Trade Organization, the revival of national coordination mechanisms, technical reviews of trade-related legislation, communication with member states of the organization, as well as preparatory work related to market access and regulatory harmonization.
The UN official stressed that what has been accomplished so far reflects a continued commitment to aligning the Iraqi trade system with multilateral rules, although additional steps are still required.
For his part, economist Nabil Al-Tamimi said that the government and the Ministry of Trade are working hard to join the World Trade Organization.
Al-Tamimi added that “joining requires several procedures, including legislative and legal amendments, in order for Iraq to meet the conditions for joining this organization, noting that the legislative process in Iraq may be slow for several reasons.”
Al-Tamimi explained that these steps were accompanied by procedural obligations that are part of the conditions for joining the organization. link