Members wanted to see "tangible results" leading to expanded membership, improvements in transparency, reinforced priority in favour of acceding Least-Developed Countries' Accessions, and top quality rules-based policy advice, linked to technical assistance and outreach from the Secretariat to all acceding governments.
The Report of the Working Party on the Accession of the Russian Federation was adopted ad referendum by the Working Party on 10 November 2011, and final action will be taken by Ministers at the Eighth WTO Ministerial Conference.
Ten formal Working Party meetings were held in 2011 namely: Bosnia and Herzegovina (two meetings); Ethiopia; Lao PDR; Russian Federation; Samoa; Serbia (two meetings); Tajikistan; and, Vanuatu.
progress was registered as follows:
a Memorandum on the Foreign Trade Regime was submitted by the Government of Liberia;
a Factual Summary of Points Raised (hereafter "Factual Summary") was prepared by the Secretariat for the Working Party on the Accession of Ethiopia;
revised Factual Summaries were prepared by the Secretariat for the Working Parties on the Accession of Azerbaijan and Belarus and submitted to these Governments for review;
a revised version of the Elements of a Draft Report was prepared by the Secretariat for the Working Party on the Accession of Lao PDR;
draft Reports were revised by the Secretariat for three Working Parties (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Samoa, and Serbia), and a first version of the draft Report was prepared for Tajikistan by the Secretariat;
the updated Accession Package of Vanuatu was adopted, ad referendum, in the re-convened Working Party on 2 May 2011.
These include, briefing Members about latest developments in acceding governments, results of country visits by Chairpersons of Working Parties, consulting on vacancies in Working Parties, planning accession meetings and related activities, based on an evolving calendar proposed by the Secretariat, and on addressing specific Members' and acceding governments' concerns.
it was designed to enhance the transparent exchange of accession-relevant information so that acceding governments are fully aware of the full engagement by Members and the imperative for improved coordination to, inter alia, achieve an even distribution of scheduling meetings in ways that are workable for Members, acceding governments and the Secretariat.
In these meetings, the Secretariat briefed the Groups on the state-of-play of accessions in the respective region; exchanged views on the responsibilities of regional neighbours/groups; discussed acceding governments' and Members' concerns and issues raised; and discussed the scope for enhancing the role and support of the Secretariat in the accession process.

In 2011, technical assistance and capacitybuilding activities included (i) national and regional seminars; (ii) workshops; (iii) technical missions; (iv) Working Party Chairpersons' visits; (v) briefings; (vi) establishment/upgrade of WTO Reference Centres; and (vii) eTraining (a dedicated module on accession has been available since 2009).
Twelve acceding governments acted as hosts for some of these activities - Algeria (June 2011), Azerbaijan (February and April 2011), The Bahamas (February 2011), Belarus (June 2011), Ethiopia (February 2011), the Islamic Republic of Iran (January and June 2011), Lebanon (April 2011), the Russian Federation (March, September and October 2011), Samoa (July 2011), Serbia (March 2011), Seychelles (February and September 2011), and Vanuatu (May 2011).
  By facilitating a structured public-private dialogue and an inclusive process, it also helps acceding LDC governments secure stakeholder buy-in.
This initiative is intended to promote the capacity of young professionals from LDCs and developing Members to master the WTO rules-based system, so as to build their capacity in the fields of trade law, international economics and international relations.
Afghanistan has submitted background documents for the next Working Party meeting, which will be convened after the circulation of a Factual Summary of Points Raised - to be prepared by the Secretariat - on the basis of the inputs provided by Afghanistan.
Multilateral discussions are proceeding on the basis of a revised draft Working Party Report, circulated in June 2011.
Consultations would need to be initiated for the designation of a Chairperson of the Working Party by the Chairman of the General Council; following which a meeting of the Working Party will be convened.
Kazakhstan has concluded and deposited with the Secretariat 25 bilateral agreements (Australia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Georgia, Honduras, India, Israel, Japan, Korea, Kyrgyz Republic, Malaysia, Mexico, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United States).
The First Working Party meeting would be convened after Liberia responds to Members' questions on the Memorandum and a Working Party Chairperson is appointed.
the replies to Members' questions, a revised Legislative Action Plan, copies of legislation and revised market access offers on goods and services.
At the 31st Meeting of the Working Party on 10 November 2011, Members of the Working Party on the Accession of the Russian Federation approved the Report of the Working Party ad referendum, agreed to transmit its recommendation to MC8 for final action by Ministers and, therefore, concluded the mandate of the Working Party.
Bilateral agreements have been signed with seven Members and deposited with the Secretariat (Ecuador, the European Union, Honduras, Japan, Korea (Republic of) and Switzerland).
The next meeting of the Working Party would be scheduled as soon as the Secretariat prepares and circulates a revised draft Report on the basis of the inputs provided by Tajikistan in November 2011.
ad referendum, by the reconvened Working Party, chaired by WTO DDG Alejandro Jara, on the authority of the Chairman of the General Council granted ex officio in 2009.
Afghanistan held its First meeting of the Working Party at the beginning of the year and has been working to provide inputs for the preparation of a Factual Summary of Points Raised (submitted to the Secretariat in November 2011).
On its part, Lao PDR continued to register steady progress in its accession, as evidenced by the conclusion of three bilateral market access agreements in 2011 and the results of the Seventh meeting of the Working Party.

The provision of targeted technical assistance by the WTO Secretariat has been a priority at all stages of the accession process through interactions with delegations in Geneva or in capitals.
As stated in the Note: "It has been prepared by the Secretariat as a practical guide for delegations of both WTO Members and acceding States or separate customs territories and is not a general policy statement on accession negotiations".
Potential benefits, as well as defensive interests, should be identified at an early stage so as to crystalize negotiating objectives and secure long-term political and legislative commitment to WTO Membership.
Many acceding governments have found it useful to invite representatives of national parliaments to meetings of the Working Party in Geneva to enable them to get first hand exposure to the negotiations and to familiarize themselves with the WTO.

A checklist/roadmap of legislative work
Beyond the analysis of the economic effects of WTO Membership, acceding governments need to begin assessing the WTO conformity of domestic trade-related legislation and practices as early as possible.

The Enhanced Integrated Framework process (LDCs) (technical assistance and capacity building)
The Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) is a multi-agency technical assistance programme for LDCs that provides a mechanism for integrating trade into national economic development plans and poverty reduction strategies.

Memorandum on the Foreign Trade Regime: Support by the WTO Secretariat
The Memorandum on the Foreign Trade Regime provides a full summary of the applicant's foreign trade regime.
AFTER SUBMISSION OF THE MEMORANDUM ON THE FOREIGN TRADE REGIME
Selection of a working party chairperson
Consultations on the selection of a Working Party Chairperson begin as soon as all documents necessary for holding the first meeting of the Working Party are in circulation (i.
While the Secretariat is not in a position to offer advice on the substance of these offers or on negotiating strategies, it is nevertheless well-placed to provide assistance on the technical aspects in the preparation of these negotiating documents.
Requests from acceding governments should be based on needs assessments that reflect overall priorities, rather than on ad hoc requests from different government agencies.

The involvement of national academia is also necessary for creating awareness of the WTO and for raising the relevance, in national public debate, of trade policy as an indispensable component of any long-term strategy for growth and development.
While governments sometimes prefer to present legislation only once it has been enacted, it has been recognized that the presentation of draft legislation ensures that acceding governments avoid asking their parliaments to pass and later amend WTO-inconsistent legislation.

Settle arrears in regular annual instalments
Before an accession package can be adopted by the General Council, the acceding government needs to fully redeem its financial obligations to the WTO.

Acceding governments can also request to be added to the Acceding Government Newsletter by sending an email to Acceding-Government-Newsletter@wto.
This Section on "Accession Best Practices" elaborates on such central aspects as negotiating strategies and structures; national coordination; technical imperatives; engagement of critical stakeholders ab initio; building knowledge; and, using the accession process as an instrument to foster international co-operation and to support domestic reforms, growth and development.
org

Azerbaijan AZE Pa
rdo de Leon Bratanov Giraud Bahamas BHS Beslac Pardo de Leon Ferdi Belarus BLR Bratanov Beslac Giraud Bhutan* BTN Yu Pardo de Leon Ferdi Bosnia Herzegovina BIH Bratanov Beslac Ferdi Comoros,
Union of the* COM Pardo de Leon Melogno Equatorial Guinea* GNQ Yu Pardo de Leon Melogno Ethiopia* ETH Wielgus Pardo de Leon Giraud/Ferdi Iran, the Islamic Republic of IRN Wielgus Bratanov Giraud Iraq IRQ Bratanov Yu Ferdi Kazakhstan KAZ Yu Bratanov Giraud/Tremblet/Ferdi Lao PDR* LAO Yu Beslac Ferdi/Tremblet Lebanese Republic LBN Pardo de Leon Bratanov Ferdi Liberia* LBR Bratanov Pardo de Leon Ferdi Libyan Arab Jamahiriya LBY Beslac Ferdi Montenegro CGR Wielgus Beslac Ferdi Russian Federation RUS Director Accessions Division;
Pardo de Leon; and,
Beslac Giraud/Tremblet/Ferdi Samoa* SAM Yu Beslac Tremblet Sao Tome et Principe* STP Beslac Pardo de Leon Giraud Serbia SRB Wielgus Beslac Giraud/Tremblet Seychelles SYC Bratanov Beslac Giraud/Tremblet Sudan* SDN Wielgus Pardo de Leon Giraud Syria SYR Bratanov Beslac Ferdi Tajikistan TJK Bratanov Pardo de Leon Tremblet Uzbekistan UZB Pardo de Leon Bratanov Tremblet Vanuatu* VUT Wielgus Yu Ferdi Yemen* YEM Yu Bratanov Ferdi *LDC (12)

Alejandro JARA
Deputy Director-General
ANNEX 3
Sample Roadmap for Accession to the WTO
Action Before submission of Memorandum After submission of Memorandum Final stages of accession I.
Capacity Building and Outreach • Identify/assess needs A A A • Coordinate with bilateral donors, international and regional Organizations A A A WTO Activities: • Briefing for Trade Minister and capital-based officials S S S • Workshop for Parliamentarians S S S • National activities S S S • Participate in regional and Geneva-based activities S S S • ITC/WTO private sector support in acceding LDCs S S S • Working Party Chairperson visits S S
A Acceding Government M Members S Secretariat
__________

WTO accession negotiations evolve through the sequenced stages of (i) the Memorandum of the Foreign Trade Regime; (ii) the Factual Summary of Points Raised; (iii) the Draft Working Party Report; and (iv) the draft Accession Package.

WT/ACC/15Page 1

WT/ACC/15
WT/GC/135
WT/MIN(11)/3 Page i

WT/ACC/15
WT/GC/135
WT/MIN(11)/3Page 22

WT/ACC/15
WT/GC/135
WT/MIN(11)/3 Page 23

This document has been prepared under the Secretariat's own responsibility and without prejudice to the positions of Members and to their rights and obligations under the WTO

Special Vacancy

(Vanuatu and

Andorra), 2

Vacancy, 8

Geneva-based, 12

Non-Geneva based,

8

Special Vacancy (Vanuatu and Andorra)

Vacancy

Geneva-based

Non-Geneva based