Minister of Economy Driton Kuchi is visiting Geneva Thursday and Friday where he is part of the Fifth Meeting of Trade Ministers of Landlocked Developing Countries.
The event is organized on the occasion of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) under which international organizations are stipulated to offer a concept for cooperation with landlocked countries. Speaking at the conference, Kuchi said Macedonia as a landlocked country was closely following the progress of talks aimed at facilitating trade.
“Being a continental country with an open market economy, Macedonia is particularly vulnerable to the efficiency of transporting goods across borders and thus, the country is focused on preparing a concept to facilitate trade, facilitate customs formalities and documents hampering trade, establishing a one-stop shop system, etc,” the Minister said.
Macedonia, he added, is making serious efforts to introduce adequate conditions in order businesses to operate without borders, quantitative limitations and other forms of restriction as noted in reports by the World Bank and OECD.
“Macedonia will continue to implement a transpired trade regime fully compatible with WTO’s rules and disciplines,” Kuchi vowed.
Macedonia has completed the ratification procedure and sent its instrument of acceptance to the WTO on 19 October 2015, thus becoming the 50th country to have done so. So far, only eight landlocked countries have sent their instrument of acceptance to the WTO, the Ministry of Economy has said.
The Trade Facilitation Agreement will enter into force once two-thirds of Members have domestically ratified a Protocol of Amendment and notified the WTO of their acceptance of this Protocol. This Protocol of Amendment, which was officially opened for acceptance on 27 November 2014, will insert the Agreement on Trade Facilitation into the WTO Agreement.