Ethiopia is working to gain accession to the WTO by 2014
Ethiopia may be eligible to join the World Trade Organisation (WTO) by 2014, according to officials at the organisation.
The announcement that the country may be able to join the WTO within the next two years was made by Pascal Lamy, out-going Director General of the organisation while visiting Ethiopia to hold talks on the potential WTO membership. More…
Laos’ impressive economic growth is beginning to pique investor’s interests
Laos – the sleepy, land-locked nation often overlooked in favor of neighboring Thailand or Vietnam – is finally garnering the international attention that it deserves. The “Jewel of the Mekong” posted 8.0% GDP growth in 2011 and has been the fourth steadiest-growing economy in the world over the last nine years. Despite being the smallest economy in Southeast Asia, it is also slated to be the fastest-growing in the region this year, on track to post 8.3% GDP growth according to the IMF. More…
Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn is easing restrictions on foreign investment
Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, has shown earliest signs that he wants to put an end to Addis Ababa’s aloofness and invite foreign companies to invest in the country.
Desalegn – on his fourth foreign visit since taking over power in September after the death of his predecessor Meles Zenawi, signed a deal lifting domestic restrictions on investors from Kenya. More…
More than 90 laws and regulations have been amended to meet the requirements of the WTO members.
Isolated for decades, impoverished and landlocked, Laos is not an obvious choice for investors. But the Communist country of 6.4 million people hopes to change that with its expected entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) on Friday, capping years of steady reforms aimed at building a modern economy and tapping a Southeast Asian boom as global manufacturers hunt for lower-cost alternatives to China. More…
Weekend Links
By Steve Hashim
Each weekend we take a step outside our normal coverage to provide our readers with links to some of the stories we find the most intriguing from around the globe.
Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, “The Great Game, Burma Edition”, Ian Storey
Southeast Asia Realtime, “ADB Targets Crumbling Transport Systems as It Plans Myanmar Return”, Sam Holmes
beyondbrics, “Vietnam gets E&Y seal of approval”, Avantika Chilkoti More…
Reposted from Euronews
by Tom Miles
Laos has cleared the last major hurdle in its 15-year quest for membership of the World Trade Organization and could finalise entry terms by the end of the year, according to internal documents seen by Reuters on Thursday.
Laos is on the home straight to membership after reaching agreement with Ukraine, the last WTO member to consent. Under WTO rules, every existing member has the right to demand improved terms of trade from candidate countries before letting them into the global trading club. More…
World Trade Organisation
GENEVA – After almost a decade of major economic transformation, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic is on the brink of World Trade Organization (WTO) membership. The small country’s Herculean effort to join the exclusive trade club is a reminder to the 10 other least-developed countries (LDCs) now seeking membership of the cumbersome process involved. More…
Pascal Lamy in Dhaka, Bangladesh
The director general of World Trade Organisation (WTO) yesterday said that Bangladesh was “well on track” to achieve its development goals to become a middle-income country by 2021.
“The government is well on track to meet many of the time-bound targets, including achieving middle-income status by 2021,” Pascal Lamy said in his speech at the 46th convocation of the University of Dhaka as he was conferred a honorary doctorate of law degree. More…
Reposted from afp
GENEVA — Laos could join the World Trade Organization by the end of 2012 as negotiations for its membership are accelerating, said the chair of Laos’ accession talks Yi Xiaozhun.
Laos’ commerce minister Nam Viyaketh said it was an “ambitious goal” but “a realistic objective.” More…
Reposted from The Diplomat
By Le Dinh Tinh
The Vietnam “story” has changed over time. First, it was a war story; then Vietnam “became a country” in the run-up to the normalization of U.S.-Vietnam relations in 1995. Now the country is moving forward with a new narrative, a strategy of active and proactive international integration.
Now, the country’s top foreign policy makers have decided it’s time for Vietnam to fully launch itself into the international arena. In a conversation with the Council on Foreign Relations last year, Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh said: “This was a turning point in our foreign policy, because before we focused on economic integration, but now we also integrate in all areas such as not only economic but politics, diplomacy, security, defense, culture and social effects.” More…
