I welcomed Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organization, to my office today and held a fruitful discussion. Ethiopia began its negotiations with the WTO as an observer in 2003. So far, we have held four rounds of working group negotiations, during which more than 900 questions from member countries have been raised and addressed. We believe that WTO membership will significantly support Ethiopia's indigenous economic reform agenda, and the negotiations have taken on renewed momentum. Ethiopia plans to finalize its negotiations at the upcoming 14th Ministerial Council of the WTO. Preparations for the 5th working group negotiations, scheduled for March 19, 2025, have been completed.
