Ethiopia is actively engaging with the WTO to conclude its accession negotiations as early as 2026 and to implement its accession commitments.

In a statement,  WTO confirms : “As Ethiopia prepares for its 5th Working Party meeting in 2025, the Steering Committee agreed on an accession roadmap which outlines steps and timelines for concluding the negotiations, currently envisaged for 2026.

” Ethiopia is not a member of the WTO though Ethiopia’s gradual accession to the WTO has been underway since 2003. 

In August 2023, Ethiopian negotiators lined up a fifth working party meeting with WTO, tentatively set up for March or April 2024.

  However, Ethiopia then paused the process for eight years, primarily over concerns about liberalising its banking and telecom sectors.

In June 2019, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, reactivated the process and formed a national committee of ten members to resume the accession procedure.

A high-level delegation from Ethiopia led by Kassahun Gofe Balami, Minister of Trade and Regional Integration and Chief Negotiator for WTO Accession, visited the WTO on 5-11 December to prepare for the reactivation of the country’s accession Working Party in early 2025.

The visit marked Ethiopia’s strong re-engagement in the accession process five years after the last Working Party meeting in January 2020. The visit began with a meeting between Minister Kassahun Gofe Balami and WTO Deputy Director-General Xiangchen Zhang on 5 December 2024.

Minister Kassahun Gofe Balami reaffirmed Ethiopia’s strong commitment to restarting and accelerating its WTO accession.

He underscores the recent progress in Ethiopia’s domestic economic reforms. He further expressed gratitude for the technical support provided by the WTO Secretariat and emphasized his Government’s needs for continued capacity-building, as a least-developed country (LDC).

The Minister also participated in the 9th Working Party Meeting of Uzbekistan on 5–6 December 2024. In his intervention at the meeting, he highlighted that Ethiopia shares Uzbekistan’s steadfast commitment to joining the WTO and noted the contribution of WTO accession to the diversification and liberalization of acceding economies.

The visit included briefing sessions on WTO Accession, jointly delivered by the World Bank and the WTO Secretariat on 9–10 December 2024.

Members of Ethiopia’s Steering Committee addressed the economic impact of WTO membership, key provisions and obligations across WTO Agreements, and specific issues in Ethiopia’s multilateral and bilateral accession negotiations.

The delegation recognized the significant benefits of WTO accession, including increased trade predictability, access to WTO instruments, and increased attractiveness of Ethiopia’s economy for foreign direct investment.

Photo Caption: Members of the Steering Committee: Ambassador Mesganu Arga Moach, State Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Chief Negotiator on WTO Accession;  Yasmin Wohabrebbi Saeed, State Minister of Trade and Regional Integration; Eyob Tekalign Tolina, State Minister of Finance;  Belayihun Yirga Kifile, State Minister of Justice;  Debele Kabeta Hursa, Commissioner for Customs; Fikadu Digafie Huriso, Vice Governor of the  National Bank of Ethiopia; and Zeleke Temesgen Boru, Commissioner for Investment.