Kazakhstan likely to join WTO in 2012 H1
ASTANA. February 4. KAZINFORM /Kanat Kulshmanov/ Kazakhstan hopes to join the World Trade Organization in the first half of 2012. Minister of Economic Development and Trade Zhanar Aitzhanova made it public at a briefing in Astana on Friday.
"We will try to finish the work this year, since we have all conditions for it. I cannot claim that Kazakhstan will join the WTO until 2012, because it depends not only on the technical work being conducted by our Government, but also on the coordination with Congress, Senate, European Union member states, our trading partners. It's impossible to predict how long time they will need", Minister Aitzhanova said.
She noted that Russia is negotiating accession to the WTO along with Kazakhstan. "WTO Secretariat and the parties have to divide their time between the negotiation processes with Kazakhstan and Russia", the Minister resumed.