  
  
WT/ACC/COM/35  
WT/MIN(22)/ 1 
 
7 June 2022 
(22-4288) Page: 1/1 
Working Party on the Accession of the Union of the 
Comoros  Original: English  
 
ACCESSION OF THE UNION OF THE COMOROS  
Report by the Chairperson of the Working Party, H.E. Ambassador Omar Zniber (Morocco)  
1. The Working Party on the Accession of the Union of the Comoros was established in 2007 and 
held its 1st meeting in 2016. Steady progress was registered with every meeting and several 
interested Working Party members engaged in bilateral market access negotiations with Comoros. 
At the 7th Working Party Meeting , held on 19 May  2022,  WTO Members noted the subs tantial 
progress made by Comoros towards concluding WTO accession. In particular, t he finalisation of 
bilateral market access negotiations  with all interested Members1 marked an important milestone in 
this process.  The increased focus on discussing commit ment language for inclusion in the Report of 
the Working Party was another positive development.  
2. Some elements of t he accession of Comoros are reaching an advanced stage of technical 
maturity. For  its part, the delegation of Comoros has conveyed to me and  Director -General Okonjo -
Iweala its determination to address all remaining technical issues identified by the Working Party in 
the course of 2022. This includes the adopt ion of all  remaining accession -related legislati ve and 
regulatory changes , including o n internal taxation .  
3. WTO accessions uphold and strengthen the rules -based trading system and enhance the 
credibility of the WTO as a multilateral institution. From the perspective of acceding governments, 
WTO accessions contribute to raising living standa rds, attracting foreign direct investment, and 
encouraging economic diversification.  This is particularly relevant for acceding LDCs, such as 
Comoros.  
4. It will be critical for Comoros to sustain its existing momentum over the coming months. 
I therefore cal l on all Members to  continue  to engage constructively in this LDC accession and 
support Comoros in its efforts to achiev e its objectives. As Chairperson, I remain committed to taking 
all necessary steps to facilitate the work of the Working Party and to steer the process towards its 
conclusion.  
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1 Pending completion of the official formalities with one Member.  