Timor-Leste participates in a High-Level Meeting of the Working Group for Timor-Leste’s Accession to the World Trade Organization
The Timor-Leste delegation, led by the Chief Negotiator for Timor-Leste's Accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), the current Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs (MCAE), Joaquim Amaral, participated, on September 30th, 2022, in Geneva, Switzerland, together with WTO member countries, in the fourth Meeting of the Working Group for Timor-Leste's Accession to the WTO. The meeting took place at the WTO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
In this meeting, Minister Joaquim Amaral was accompanied by the Vice-Minister of Trade and Industry, Domingos Lopes Antunes, and by Ambassador Maria de Lurdes Martins de Sousa Bessa, Permanent Representative of Timor-Leste in Jenebra, together with representatives from various ministries and autonomous agencies, according to the composition of the Working Group, defined by the Order of the Prime Minister, Taur Matan Ruak, No. 009/PM/III/2020, of March 16th.
This fourth Meeting of the Working Group for Timor-Leste's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) comes at an opportune moment and represents the national commitment to the indicative timeline that Timor-Leste has set.
The national delegation, which left Timor-Leste on September 23rd, 2022, held bilateral meetings with several WTO member countries. On September 26th, 2022, the Chief Negotiator, Joaquim Amaral, and his entourage met with the delegations of Canada and the European Union to review the information that Timor-Leste submitted to the WTO in June. In addition, on September 27th, 2022, Timor-Leste's delegation held bilateral meetings with other WTO member countries, namely with the Philippines and Japan, in which the process that Timor-Leste already concluded several months ago was reviewed.
At the meeting between Timor-Leste and the Philippines, both countries agreed to sign an agreement on goods and services. This agreement is expected to be signed in October 2022.
On September 29th, 2022, Joaquim Amaral and the Timor-Leste delegation held other bilateral meetings with other WTO member countries, namely Thailand and the United States of America. On the same day, the Timor-Leste delegation, led by the Vice-Minister of Commerce and Industry, Domingos Lopes Antunes, and his entourage, also held a meeting with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) - at WIPO's headquarters, in Geneva, Switzerland.
Timor-Leste's presence in this Working Group Meeting was aimed at strengthening diplomatic and trade relations, paving the way for when Timor-Leste becomes a member of the WTO. On the other hand, it was an opportunity for Timor-Leste to experience having the same rights as other WTO member countries, through a Free Trade Agreement, that can optimize the well-being of the people, including the commercialization of Timor-Leste's products in other WTO countries.
Officially, Timor-Leste applied for WTO membership on April 7th, 2015, when the General Council of the World Trade Organization accepted Timor-Leste's application. To fulfil this commitment, on December 7th, 2016, Timor-Leste established a Working Group on Accession to the World Trade Organization to begin discussions on Timor-Leste's willingness to become a member of the WTO.
This fourth Working Group Meeting is considered to be very decisive in assessing Timor-Leste's readiness for membership commitments and will be the starting point for recognizing all the efforts that Timor-Leste has already overcome during this process. Following this fourth Working Group Meeting, Timor-Leste must convene another Working Group Meeting. This will enable Timor-Leste to complete the instrument of acceptance, with the notification of entry into force mentioned by the Protocol of Accession.
