TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, May 29. Uzbekistan and
India have signed a protocol concluding bilateral market access
negotiations, marking another step forward in Uzbekistan’s bid to
join the World Trade Organization (WTO), Azizbek Urunov,
Representative of the President of Uzbekistan on the WTO and Chief
Negotiator wrote on his social media account, Trend reports.
''Finally, today, we signed the Protocol on completion of market
access negotiations with India that were agreed in 2024,'' he said
in a post.
According to Urunov, the sides reached substantive agreements on
market access issues in 2024, but additional work was needed to
complete technical verification procedures and finalize the text of
the protocol.
“India demonstrated a highly constructive approach to the core
issues of market access,” Urunov said, thanking New Delhi for its
continued support of Uzbekistan’s WTO accession efforts.
He also acknowledged the role of Uzbekistan’s Ambassador to
India Sardor Rustambaev and India’s Ambassador to Uzbekistan Smita
Pant in advancing the negotiations.
Urunov stated that Uzbekistan will immediately submit the signed
protocol to the WTO Secretariat for consolidation into the
country’s overall accession package.
Uzbekistan had initially aimed to finalize its WTO accession
process before the organization’s 14th Ministerial Conference in
March 2026, but the process remains ongoing. Urunov previously said
some WTO member states had been slow to review required documents,
creating delays in the negotiations.
The Central Asian country is now seeking to complete its
accession and secure full WTO membership by the end of 2026.
