At a meeting of the General Council on 22 July the World Trade Organization (WTO) members agreed to grant Turkmenistan observer status in the WTO. Turkmenistan, a state in Central Asia with a population of about 6.2 million, became the last former Soviet republic to establish a formal relationship with the WTO.
Turkmenistan submitted its request for observer status in May, indicating its intent to initiate negotiations for WTO accession within a period of five years.
Story by: Riaan de Lange