The FINANCIAL -- WTO Ministers on 17 December 2011 adopted Samoa’s and Montenegro’s WTO terms of entry at the 8th Ministerial Conference in Geneva.

Samoa will have until 15 June 2012 to ratify its accession package and Montenegro until 31 March 2012. Both countries will become fully-fledged WTO members 30 days after they notify ratification of their respective accession packages to the WTO.Samoa’s Deputy Prime Minister Fonotoe Lauofo said that this accession was a milestone in the island’s development. He added that the accession will be beneficial for Samoa’s economy.

WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy said that Samoa was the 5th least-developed country to join the multilateral trading system since 1995. He added that technical assistance and capacity building was crucial to empower countries like Samoa to be in a position to negotiate trade rules.

Ministers congratulated Samoa for this considerable achievement.

They acknowledged that the accession process was long and challenging for a small LDC island like Samoa.Montenegro’s Prime Minister Igor Lukšić said that, with this accession, Montenegro will gain visibility in global affairs and global trade. The WTO accession will help Montenegro build a competitive and dynamic economy. He added that WTO membership was the road that would lead to integration into the world economy.

WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy said that the approval of Montenegro’s terms of membership today by the Ministerial Conference was a commendable achievement. He added that, for Montenegro, being part of the multilateral trading system underlined its commitment to transparency, openness and the rule of law. He said that WTO membership was an insurance policy against protectionism and, in turn, indispensable in an uncertain and rapidly changing global political and economic environment.

Ministers warmly welcomed Montenegro in the WTO and congratulated Montenegro for meeting the accession challenges.

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