Azerbaijan Continues to Make Progress towards WTO Accession

The 16th meeting of the Working Party on Azerbaijan’s WTO accession took place on 26 September, injecting new energy into the country’s membership bid following the recent appointment of a new chief negotiator. The meeting highlighted Azerbaijan’s reinforced determination to join the WTO, with many members praising the nation’s recent reform initiatives. Members also emphasized the need for significant advances in both market access and regulatory negotiations to maintain the momentum of the accession talks.

Samad Bashirli, Deputy Minister of Economy and newly appointed WTO Chief Negotiator, led the high-level delegation of the Government of Azerbaijan to Geneva for the Working Party meeting. This took place 14 months after the previous meeting in July 2023, which had marked the resumption of accession negotiations after a six-year gap. The delegation also included Azerbaijan's Ambassador to the WTO, Galib Israfilov, senior government officials, and experts from a range of ministries and government agencies.

Deputy Minister Bashirli highlighted the reforms undertaken by the government in recent years to align its trade regime and national legislation with international best practices and WTO requirements. “We think that these steps will lead to the achievement of important successes in the direction of ensuring a stable economy, accelerating the integration of Azerbaijan into the global economy, fulfilling international obligations, as well as without doubt also to the successful implementation of the WTO accession agenda,” he said.

He recalled that WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala met on 6 June with President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan and Minister of Economy Mikayil Jabbarov in Baku to discuss the country’s accession process and the 29th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) to be held later this year in Azerbaijan.

Stressing Azerbaijan's efforts to diversify its economy, Deputy Minister Bashrili highlighted the key goals outlined in the “Azerbaijan 2030: National Priorities for Socio-Economic Development”. These include building a competitive economy, fostering social justice, promoting innovation, and advancing environmental sustainability through “green growth.”

He noted that Azerbaijan had recently concluded bilateral negotiations with Japan, signing a protocol in March, and finalized talks with Thailand, with preparations underway for an official signing. The visit to Geneva of the delegation from Azerbaijan also included productive exchanges with members aimed at accelerating its WTO accession process at the bilateral level.

WTO Deputy Director-General Zhang Xiancheng stressed the progress made since the resumption of the Working Party in July 2023 following the six-year hiatus. He welcomed the market access agreements signed by Azerbaijan with WTO members. He also emphasized that Azerbaijan, positioned as a strategic transit hub between Europe and Asia, stands to gain significantly from the legal and institutional reforms tied to WTO membership.

“Azerbaijan’s reforms, combined with WTO membership, will help drive essential legal and institutional changes, enabling the country to strengthen its role both regionally and globally. We are optimistic about the next steps,” he added.

The chair of the Working Party, Ambassador Alparslan Acarsoy of Türkiye, said: “The progress registered since the resumption of the process and the appointment of a Chief Negotiator are sending a clear signal that Azerbaijan is keen to advance its negotiations with renewed focus and determination. That said, Working Party members will no doubt be looking for further substantive indications that this accession process — which is now in its 27th year — has a clear sense of direction and can be concluded.”

Members acknowledged Azerbaijan's efforts and urged the Azerbaijani delegation to continue its work to achieve significant progress ahead of the next Working Party meeting.

The Working Party met informally on the following day, 27 September, for technical discussions on Azerbaijan's agriculture domestic support.

Azerbaijan's accession process began in 1997 and the Working Party met for the first time in 2002.

Next steps

The Chair noted that the groundwork for the resumption of the accession process had been laid, but stressed the need to maintain focus, set clear targets, and sustain high-level political engagement. He proposed that Azerbaijan prioritize bilateral market access negotiations and suggested setting a target for the number of agreements to be signed before the next meeting.

Members were invited to submit comments and questions by 25 October. In addition to providing replies, Azerbaijan was asked to keep the Working Party informed about legislative developments and updates to its Legislative Action Plan for the next meeting.

The Chair expressed a desire to hold the next meeting in the first half of 2025, after the submission of all required inputs, with a specific date to be determined in consultation with delegations.