Kazakhstan wraps up its chairmanship of WTO Committee

ASTANA. KAZINFORM - The WTO Committee on Trade and Environment held this year's last session chaired by Kazakhstan at the WTO headquarters on November 1, Kazinform has learnt from the Kazakh MFA's press service.

In attendance at the session were officials of all WTO member states, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the United National Environment Program (UNEP), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The report on the progress in negotiations regarding the multilateral Environmental Goods Agreement was presented during the session. The agreement is called to eliminate import customs duties on a number of goods and equipment. Given that, the Ambassador of Kazakhstan Zhanar Aitzhanova who chaired the session noted relevance of the initiative.

Ms Aitzhanova also praised the reports made at the session by Canada, New Zealand, Peru and other delegations. Also, she urged WTO members to work closely together within the framework of the committee to share the best national practices in implementation of international agreements and conventions associated with trade and environment.