WTO Weeks Kick Off in Belarus: First Roundtable to be Held on October 16 in Vitebsk
Participants of the event will include international and national experts, specialists in foreign trade and the WTO, representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Belarus, the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, heads of local authorities, enterprises of the region, business associations, and higher education institutions. The main topics of discussion will be the most pressing issues concerning the process, status, and consequences of WTO accession, and the rules of operation within the WTO framework. The event will also feature the manual "WTO for Enterprises," developed in 2018, which outlines the basic norms and rules stipulated by the GATT/WTO agreements and their application in the foreign trade activities of enterprises.
Currently, accession to the WTO is one of the priority tasks of Belarus's foreign trade policy. WTO membership will enable the country to ensure stable and predictable trade conditions with countries of the international community, and for foreign investors and producers – generally accepted rules for conducting foreign economic activities in Belarus.
By the end of October, similar events will be held in all other regional centers. The concluding meeting will take place on November 2 in Minsk. The series of round tables is being held within the framework of the project "Assistance to the Government of the Republic of Belarus in Accession to the World Trade Organization through Strengthening Expert and Institutional Capacity (Phase 5)". The project is funded by the Government of the Russian Federation and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus.