- Apart from other member states, India also supported Turkmenistan as an observer of WTO.
- Now, there is a possibility of Turkmenistan’s acceding (to the organisation’s membership) in the next five years.
Key Points:
-Turkmenistan, a Central Asian country filed a request for observer status in May, 2020 and expressed willingness to initiate talks on accession to the WTO within five years.
-Its neighbouring Central Asian countries — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan and Afghanistan — have acceded to the WTO, while Uzbekistan has been in on-and-off negotiations on WTO accession since 1994.
About World Trade Organization (WTO):
Director-General– Roberto Carvalho de Azevedo (Retire on August 31, 2020)
Members– 164 countries and 25 Observer nations