  
  
WT/ACC/ TLS/22 
WT/MIN(22)/ 2 
 
7 June 2022 
(22-4287) Page: 1/1 
Working Party on the Accession of Timor -Leste  Original: English  
 
 
ACCESSION OF TIMOR -LESTE  
Report by the Chairperson of the Working Party, H.E.  Ambassador  Rui Macieira (Portugal)  
1. The Working Party  on the Accession of Timor -Leste was established in December 2016 and 
held three  meeting s: in October 2020 , July 2021 and, most recently, in April 2022 . The three cycles 
of meetings, held in just 18 months, registered substantive advancement in this accession process. 
At its 3rd meeting  on 29 April 2022,  the Working Party noted the progress made in Timor -Leste's 
bilateral market access negotiations with interested Members and agreed to proceed to prepare  a 
Draft Report of the  Working Party  containing Timor -Leste's draft commitments.  
2. This is a remarkable achievement for a least -developed country (LDC) which has been severely 
impacted by the COVID -19 pandemic and constrained by capacity.  If the existing political 
commitment and technical engagement is sustained, Timor -Leste  will continue to make progress 
towards  achieving WTO Member ship. This would be in line with Timor -Leste's twin goal of parallel 
accession to the WTO and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations  (ASEAN).  
3. While the Organization welcomed no new Member since the 10th WTO Ministerial Conference 
in December 2015, the ongoing accession efforts, especially those of LDCs such as the young nation 
of Timor -Leste, continue to demonstrate the value and relevance of the rules -based multilateral 
trading system as a tool for econo mic development and peace building .  
4. I therefore call on Members to continue constructive engag ement with Timor -Leste, bilaterally 
and multilaterally, to help achieve its goal of finalising the accession negotiations, while extend ing 
the necessary technical assistance and  support. As Working Party Chair, I am committed to 
facilitating this work, to bring this process to the finish line.  
 
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