Iraq’s Trade Minister and head of the Iraqi team for World Trade Organization (WTO) accession, Atheer Daoud Al-Ghureiri, announced the resumption of negotiations to join the WTO after a pause of over 16 years.
According to a statement from Riyadh Fakher Al-Hashemi, Director of the Foreign Relations Department, reported by the Iraqi News Agency (INA), “Iraqi negotiation teams have commenced their preparatory meetings at the WTO headquarters in Geneva, in anticipation of the third meeting of the Working Party on Iraq’s Accession.”
Al-Hashemi further elaborated that “the initial preparatory meeting was held at the WTO headquarters with the Director of the Accession Division and experts in goods, services, and intellectual property.
The meeting was chaired by the Director General of the Economic Relations Department and included negotiators representing Iraqi ministries and the Kurdistan Region to discuss key files and documents submitted by Iraq in the previous phase.”
He pointed out that “the third formal meeting of the Working Party, which will be chaired by the Trade Minister representing Iraq, will review the files and documents completed by the national committee responsible for the accession.”
Al-Hashemi emphasized, “This is the first time the Iraqi negotiating team has reached this level of expertise in negotiations, reflecting their improved capabilities and proficiency in handling complex issues related to WTO membership.”
