Britain Supports Uzbekistan's Accession to the WTO 

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Saida Mirziyoyeva highlights key milestones in Uzbekistan’s WTO journey

With the support of the Embassy of Uzbekistan in London, a visit by Azizbek Urunov, the Special Representative of the President of Uzbekistan for the World Trade Organization (WTO), was organized. This was reported by the "Dunyo" news agency.  

During the visit, Urunov held negotiations with Gareth Thomas, the UK Deputy Minister for Business and Trade, as well as senior officials from the Foreign Office and trade experts.  

“It was emphasized during the meetings that Britain views Uzbekistan as one of its most important partners in Central Asia and is interested in further strengthening comprehensive relations with official Tashkent,” the report states.  

The discussions also covered modern trends in international trade, with the British side reaffirming its full support for Uzbekistan’s accession to the WTO.  

Additionally, both parties agreed to expand technical assistance for Uzbekistan’s WTO accession through the Economic Growth and Development Program, implemented with support from the British World Bank. As part of this initiative, efforts will be made to strengthen the institutional capacity of Uzbek specialists and enhance their expertise in international trade.  

For reference, Uzbekistan initially applied for WTO membership in 1994 and has actively pursued accession since 2020.  

It should be recalled that at the end of last year, Uzbekistan concluded bilateral negotiations with Pakistan and Thailand regarding WTO accession. On December 19, Uzbekistan and the United States signed a protocol on the completion of bilateral market access negotiations as part of the accession process. The document was signed by Deputy Prime Minister Jamshid Khujaev and U.S. Trade Representative Catherine Tate.