US supports Uzbekistan’s WTO membership: Protocol signed

On December 19, Uzbekistan and the United States signed a protocol marking the completion of bilateral market access negotiations as part of Uzbekistan's accession process to the World Trade Organization (WTO). The signing was announced by Azizbek Urunov, Special Representative of the President of Uzbekistan for WTO Affairs, on his LinkedIn page.

The protocol was signed by Deputy Prime Minister Jamshid Kho'jayev and US Trade Representative Catherine Tay. Azizbek Urunov hailed this achievement as a historic milestone in Uzbekistan’s WTO accession process, emphasizing the team's dedication under President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s leadership.

"This year has been historic in our WTO accession process, and promising results have been achieved at the end of the year. Under the leadership of President Mirziyoyev, our team is paying even more attention to the implementation of the mission. 2026 is not far off, the obligations are clear. Also, all recognition goes to the members of the Uzbekistan negotiating team," O'runov wrote.

The US Trade Representative Catherine Tay highlighted the Biden-Harris administration’s ongoing support for Uzbekistan’s WTO accession efforts. She praised Uzbekistan's strong commitment to advancing negotiations, which led to the successful conclusion of a bilateral agreement.

“Uzbekistan applied for WTO membership in 1994 and has been actively working on this process since 2020. Uzbekistan’s strong commitment to advancing the negotiations has led to significant progress over the past two years, including the successful conclusion of a bilateral agreement,” stated the US side.

In December, Uzbekistan also finalized bilateral negotiations with Pakistan and Thailand regarding WTO membership. Last month, Azizbek Urunov announced the impending conclusion of talks with the United States, which has now been formalized with the signing of the protocol.