In 2025, Uzbekistan completed negotiations with 33 of the 34 member states of the World Trade Organization and is on the verge of joining, the President’s spokesperson for the WTO, Azizbek Urunov, announced on his social media.
The expert said that over the year, the country has held more than 40 rounds of bilateral negotiations and numerous working group meetings, at which more than 200 issues were considered, and called the year “decisive and result-oriented” within the framework of the republic’s accession to the WTO.
In addition, Azizbek Urunov noted that the country has concluded agreements with its main trading partners, including the EU, China, Russia, Great Britain, Switzerland, Canada, Australia, and other countries. Also, during this time, 30 legal acts related to the WTO were adopted: 4 laws, 8 presidential decrees and resolutions, 12 Cabinet of Ministers resolutions, and 6 departmental regulatory acts.
Currently, according to the expert, another 29 draft legal acts are being prepared, including “comprehensive reforms” in the field of customs regulation, export duties, trade protection measures, intellectual property protection, technical regulation, as well as sanitary and phytosanitary measures and technical barriers in trade.
In addition, “only one round of bilateral negotiations with Taiwan remains unfinished”. Azizbek Urunov emphasized that Uzbekistan has achieved “significant progress” in terms of goods and services schedules and has transitioned to consolidation stages. In 2026, the country plans to complete the remaining bilateral and multilateral negotiations, prepare working group reports, and finally agree on legislation and take “decisive steps” to complete the WTO accession process.
Earlier, it was reported that Uzbekistan had moved towards joining the WTO after concluding negotiations with Russia. The process is planned to be completed in 2026.
