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Seychelles An Official World Trade Organization Member

Seychelles An Official World Trade Organization Member

From Seychelles News Agency

A 19-year-long process for Seychelles to become a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) came to an end yesterday when the island nation’s Minister for Finance Trade and Investment Pierre Laporte signed the accession protocol.

The signing ceremony followed the approval of the Seychelles’ accession package, including the accession protocol by WTO’s General Council in Geneva, Switzerland, at its last meeting for this year.

This means the Indian Ocean archipelago of 115 islands, with a population of around 90,000 people, will officially become the 161st member of the WTO, 30 days after the ratification by the National Assembly of its accession protocol.

According to a press statement issued by the Ministry of Finance, Trade and Investment (MFTI) the ratification is expected to be completed by latest, in the first quarter of 2015.

Describing the step as a historic day for Seychelles and its people Minister Laporte said the WTO membership will bring several benefits to the country. He noted that reforms that had to be undertaken during the accession process have helped bring the country’s laws and policies at par with best international standards.

“……Our private sector has already began to reap the benefits of a more predictable and transparent trading system. Seychelles now has a platform which provides the country, as a small island nation, with an equal opportunity as its large counterparts to make its voice heard on trade issues,” said Laporte in the statement.

Guidance of country’s leaders recognized

Addressing the WTO’s General Council in Geneva, Laporte also paid tribute to what he described as the “crucial leadership and guidance” of the Seychelles President James Michel to the process as well as the role of the country’s Vice President Danny Faure, who was the finance minister when the country first embarked on its IMF-assisted economic reform programme in 2008.

Read more at Seychelles News Agency