SANAA, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Yemen has reached an agreement with Ukraine to end the latter's opposition to Yemen's access to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and is likely to join the trade bloc as early as October, the country's official Saba news agency reported Thursday, quoting an official of industry and trade.

"Yemeni minister of industry and trade, Saad al-Din bin Taleb, reached a deal with Ukraine to conclude the bilateral negotiations between the two countries that have lasted more than three years to fulfill Yemen's membership requirements with the WTO," Saba said.

According to the WTO rules, every member has the right to hold negotiations with candidate countries and has an effective veto on new members as the latter has to agree terms with every existing members.

"Yemen will complete the remaining technical requirements within the next two months and is likely to join WTO in October," said Hamoud al-Najar, chief of communication and coordination officer with WTO at the ministry of industry and trade.

Yemen has held negotiations with Ukraine on the accession to WTO for three years and recently Ukraine eased its conditions.

Since 2000, Yemen has streamlined many laws and made improvements to meet the requirements of WTO.

Yemen is one of the poorest countries in the world and the latest developments including the 2011 turmoil deepened its woes. Analysts said joining the WTO will be important advantages for Yemen's economy.

July 26, 2012

Source: Xinhua

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