At the "International Hotel Tashkent" the Negotiating Team on Uzbekistan's accession to the WTO, headed by Deputy Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade B.Abidov, took part in two round tables with the business community and academia on the accession of the Republic of Uzbekistan to the World Trade Organization (WTO).

The events, which were also attended by the heads of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, more than 100 representatives of the private sector, business communities and international organizations, were held as part of the official visit to Uzbekistan of the delegation of the WTO Secretariat headed by Deputy Director-General X.Zhang during October 26-31, 2021 and with the support of the United Nations Development Program in Uzbekistan.

During the round table with the business community, issues of WTO accession and its impact on the activities of the private sector, possible consequences for various sectors of the country and other aspects were discussed.

WTO Deputy Director-General X.Zhang familiarized the participants with China's experience in accession to the WTO and the work done to mitigate the negative consequences of joining the Organization for the private sector of the PRC.

The second round table was attended by representatives of academic, research institutes and scientific circles. Practical issues related to increasing the effectiveness of their participation in the process of Uzbekistan's accession to the WTO were discussed.

Special attention was paid to the important role of research institutes in the WTO accession process, which have the potential and necessary resources to prepare arguments for a negotiating position in a dialogue with the Organization's member countries, as well as in conducting research on possible consequences for economic sectors and leveling negative scenarios.

The necessity of training future personnel on the issues of the multilateral trading system and the WTO for the effective participation of the country in the activities of the Organization after joining it was noted.

During the events, presentations and speeches were made by heads and representatives of the WTO Secretariat, the Ministry of Investments and Foreign Trade, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan, national research institutes and higher educational institutions.

Following the results of the round tables, the participants spoke in favor of an active continuation of the dialogue between representatives of the public and private sectors, as well as further expansion of the involvement of national research institutions in the process of Uzbekistan's accession to the WTO.