Syria has officially asked to join WTO
Syria, Economics, 11/13/2001

Syria has handed the President of the World Trade Organization WTO Mike Moore an official request to join the World Trade Organization WTO. The Syrian request said that Syria is committed to objectives of this organization and therefore it applies to be a member in it.

The Syrian request came after the consent of the Syrian regional leadership of the Baath party. A consent which put an end to the controversy between those who support and those reject Syria's joining the WTO.

In a statement the director of the international relations department at the Syrian ministry of the economy Ghassan Habash said that Syria has actually applied to join the WTO as a full member rather than an observer.

Habash, who is also a member of the Syrian negotiation team to the Syrian- EU Association Agreement talks said that Syria has lost the right to re- join the WTO since 1994 because the WTO had stipulated for the return back of countries which pulled out from the organization to apply once again until the end of 1994 but Syria did not, and therefore Syria is now requested to apply once again to re-join the WTO which means that the WTO and Syria will join negotiations that will last for years.

On the measures to be pursued concerning the Syrian request, Habash said that Syria expects to receive an answer for its request before the end of this year after this request will be submitted to 144 states members in the WTO.

Habash added that Syria was encouraged by ambassadors of several countries accredited in Damascus to join the WTO and that these countries decided to support the Syrian request to the WTO.

Syria has to propose a comprehensive memorandum on the state of the Syrian economy including rules of the foreign trade and the investment and monetary laws as well as intellectual property and many other issues to be negotiated with the WTO.

Habash said that Syria has decided to form four committees in preparation for the coming negotiations which are a main committee composed of the minister of the economy and three sub committees one is for the foreign trade headed by the deputy minister of the economy, a second for services chaired by the deputy minister of supply and a third for the monetary affairs chaired by the financial and monetary affair department director.

The four committee includes national teams include all public sectors and also representatives for the private sector.

Previous Stories:
  Syrian traders violate export conditions for Iraq   (11/12/2001)
  Syria and the World Trade Organization   (11/10/2001)
  Syrian- Jordanian trade exchange booming   (11/8/2001)

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