THE UWED WTO CHAIR’S ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON “UZBEKISTAN’S WTO ACCESSION: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES”

On December 5, 2022, the University of World Economy and Diplomacy (UWED) hosted a high-level conference to address the critical issues involved in concluding Uzbekistan’s accession negotiations to the WTO, including domestic processes, legislative actions, reforms, and capacity-building support during the accession process, the key challenges that can be expected following the conclusion of Uzbekistan’s WTO accession and how to derive the benefits from its membership. The event was attended by high-level representatives of the WTO, UNECE, academic institutions in the region, and partner institutions.

The UWED has become one of the 17 new institutions being chosen to join the network of WCP Chairs in December 2021, which now comprises 36 universities from all over the globe. The WTO Chairs Programme was launched in 2010. It aims to enhance knowledge and understanding of the trading system among academics and policymakers in developing countries through curriculum development, research and outreach activities by universities and research institutions. The main objectives of the Programme are to:

• Promote research in trade-related matters and highlight policy relevance
• Support the development and delivery of courses on international trade and provide teaching support
• Encourage outreach activities
• Collate information and promote knowledge sharing on international trade
• Establish a network of engaged academics

 

The WTO Chair in Uzbekistan is the first of its kind in Central Asia and aims to enhance knowledge and understanding of the WTO legal system among academics and policymakers through curriculum development, research, and outreach activities. The project is designed for four years (2021–2024).

The UWED WTO Chair will implement three main activities:

(1) transferring advanced knowledge on the WTO and international trade to the Uzbek audience through updating existing courses, implementing new courses, and organizing an annual short summer training course for practitioners at the UWED;

(2) Increasing research capacity in the field of WTO standards and WTO law by leading specific research, providing methodological support to young researchers, and concentrating human resources by increasing connectivity among researchers from various disciplines.

(3) Fostering dialogue among academics, policymakers, public servants, and civil society institutions by encouraging open debate, discussion, and reflection on international trade and WTO issues and disseminating information to the public at large through a variety of events.

The purpose of those activities is to develop proposals to maximize the benefits and minimize possible adverse effects of the membership. The special objective of the project is to study the experience of the WTO accessions, modelling the assessment of the impact of Uzbekistan's accession to the WTO on the national economy and its legal system.