Uzbekistan made substantial progress in its bid to join the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2025, completing most market-access negotiations, advancing legislative reforms, and deepening engagement with WTO members, according to Azizbek Urunov, the President’s Representative on WTO issues and Chief Negotiator.
In a year-end post on LinkedIn, Urunov described 2025 as a “decisive and results-oriented” phase in the accession process, marked by intensive negotiations and coordinated institutional efforts.
On the negotiation front, Uzbekistan completed bilateral market-access talks with 33 of the 34 WTO members engaged in the process. More than 40 rounds of bilateral negotiations and several Working Party meetings were held during the year, addressing over 200 written questions.
Agreements were finalised with major trading partners, including the European Union, China, Russia, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Canada and Australia. One bilateral negotiation remains outstanding.
High-level diplomatic engagement also intensified. Uzbek officials held meetings with the WTO Director-General and took part in major international events in New York and Geneva. Three international events focusing on Uzbekistan’s economic reforms were organised, while Saida Mirziyoyeva, Head of the Presidential Administration, paid an official visit to Geneva, underscoring political backing for WTO accession.
Legislative alignment with WTO rules advanced significantly. In 2025, Uzbekistan adopted 30 WTO-related legal acts, including four laws, eight presidential decrees and decisions, 12 Cabinet of Ministers’ decisions, and six departmental regulations.
A further 29 draft legal acts were prepared for adoption. Reforms covered customs regulation, export duties, trade remedies, intellectual property protection, technical regulation, and sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) and technical barriers to trade (TBT) frameworks.
Capacity building and technical work formed another pillar of the year’s progress. Authorities organised 30 specialised training seminars, with more than 60 officials trained on WTO agreements. Experts reviewed over 1,200 legal and regulatory documents, while 65 official notifications and submissions were sent to the WTO Secretariat.
On market access, Uzbekistan made progress in drafting goods and services schedules, moving into consolidation stages. Final discussions were launched on export duty disciplines, freedom of transit and trade facilitation in line with WTO rules, alongside active engagement in WTO sectoral agreements.
Looking ahead to 2026, Urunov noted that priorities include concluding the remaining bilateral negotiation, finalising multilateral talks and the Working Party Report, completing legislative alignment, and moving toward the finalisation of WTO membership.
“The progress achieved reflects coordinated institutional work, strong political backing and constructive engagement with WTO members,” Urunov wrote, adding that Uzbekistan remains committed to rules-based trade, transparency and deeper integration into the global trading system.
