At the 14th meeting of the Working Party on the Accession of Bosnia and Herzegovina, held on 19 June, WTO members noted the advanced stage of the accession process and reaffirmed their support for the conclusion of the negotiations. The meeting marked the first formal gathering of the Working Party in seven years, underlining renewed momentum in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s accession process. The country started its WTO accession negotiations in July 1999.
The Chair of the Working Party, Ambassador Anita Pipan of Slovenia, said the meeting was an opportunity to “inject fresh momentum into Bosnia and Herzegovina’s accession process, which is now in its 26th year and is technically advanced.”
Ambassador Pipan asked delegations to clearly pinpoint the last outstanding issues of this accession process. She underlined that Bosnia and Herzegovina was identified by the WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as one of three accessions with a strategic focus for this year and the 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14) next year in Cameroon, alongside Ethiopia and Uzbekistan.
“Today’s meeting offers an opportunity to take stock of where we are, identify remaining concerns, and consider possible next steps toward the conclusion of the accession process,” she added.
Mr. Hamdo Tinjak, Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations and Head of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s WTO Accession Team, led the delegation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Geneva.
He said that through the WTO accession process, alongside other integration efforts, the country has succeeded in establishing an open and liberal foreign trade regime grounded in the principles of free movement of people, goods, services and capital, and the removal of trade barriers.
“We view this as one of the most significant achievements of the accession process. Full WTO membership would serve as formal recognition of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a country with harmonized and transparent trade legislation — a reliable partner for international trade and a favourable destination for foreign investment. This, in turn, is expected to contribute to the expansion of our foreign trade and, ultimately, to the broader economic development of the country,” said Mr Tinjak. See his full statement here.
On the bilateral track, Bosnia and Herzegovina reported significant progress in the last remaining bilateral market access negotiations, following the resolution of a key outstanding issue relating to the regulation of petroleum fuels. On the multilateral track, Bosnia and Herzegovina stressed that the draft Working Party Report (the formal document that outlines the specific commitments an acceding government will undertake upon joining the WTO) is nearly complete, reflecting Bosnia and Herzegovina’s alignment with WTO rules and principles.
Deputy Director-General Zhang Xiangchen said that the reactivation of this accession process after seven years “stands as a testament to the recent constructive developments in this technically advanced accession file, which have provided a clear basis for the Working Party to take its work towards finalization.”
DDG Zhang, who accompanied the Working Party Chair on a visit to Sarajevo in November 2024, stressed that the WTO Secretariat remains fully committed to supporting efforts “to cross the finishing line in the very near future”.
Delegations commended Bosnia and Herzegovina’s technical engagement, and the substantive progress made in the accession process.
Next steps
Recognizing the value of securing a potential deliverable for the WTO before or at MC14, Ambassador Pipan urged the conclusion of the remaining bilateral market access negotiations, which would enable the WTO Secretariat to consolidate the draft schedules of commitments on goods and services. On the multilateral front, she requested members to submit additional questions and comments by 17 July that will be circulated to the Working Party.
Subsequently, the Secretariat will update the draft Working Party Report. “I very much hope that this next version will be final,” Ambassador Pipan said.
Keeping in mind Bosnia and Herzegovina’s aspiration to finalize its accession process as soon as possible, the Chair added that the next Working Party meeting will depend on consultations with delegations and the Secretariat, particularly on the conclusion of the last outstanding bilateral market negotiations and the finalization of the draft Working Party Report.
