Ethiopia Sets March 2026 Deadline For WTO Accession

Seventh working party meeting scheduled for January

Ethiopia has set March 2026 as the deadline to finalize accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), ending more than two decades of planning and negotiations.

Last week saw the conclusion of Ethiopia’s sixth WTO working party meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, with officials hailing it as the most productive yet. A seventh meeting is expected to take place in January 2026.

“Our plan is to finalize the WTO negotiations during the ministerial conference in Yaounde, Cameroon, in March 2026,” said Kassahun Gofe, chief negotiator and minister of Trade and Regional Integration.

“Our document status at WTO is currently at the draft stage. This is an improvement from the elements stage. This is a big success. Though negotiations continue, from now on, there will be no discussion on basic elements. The next step is ratifying the draft.”

Speaking at the meeting on 26 September, Ethiopia’s chief negotiator said the country’s accession “has entered a decisive phase”.

He also reaffirmed the country’s commitment to meeting the requirements for Ethiopia to join the WTO at the 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14) in Yaoundé, Cameroon, in March 2026.

The high-level Ethiopian delegation in Geneva consisted of 18 senior government officials from the Steering Committee on Accession and experts from ministries and government agencies. Other government officials from Addis Ababa.

Kassahun stressed Ethiopia’s readiness to join the WTO and highlighted several key reforms undertaken since last year as part of the country’s Home-Grown Economic Reform Agenda. This  includes further liberalization of banking and foreign exchange market (forex) sectors, easing requirements for foreign investors, and increasing the role of the private sector in the economy.

Kassahun reported progress in the negotiations with WTO members, highlighting a commitment “to join the WTO on substantively meaningful terms.”

Since March, Ethiopia has responded to over 200 questions from members and submitted over 50 pieces of legislation. It has also tabled a total of 33 draft commitments for consideration by members. Ethiopia has concluded the technical parts of bilateral market access negotiations with six members. Discussions are ongoing with a dozen more, with some at an advanced stage.

“Ethiopia’s WTO membership would bring in a market of 120 million people, create new opportunities for global trade and investment, and reinforce the credibility of the WTO accession process,” Kassahun said. “It would demonstrate that the system works for developing and least-developed countries, while anchoring Ethiopia’s Home-Grown Economic Reform Agenda in a rules-based multilateral system, ensuring predictability, transparency and fairness.”

Lauding Ethiopia’s “commitment and proactive engagement, which is now bearing fruits,” WTO Deputy Director-General Xiangchen Zhang underscored its economic reform and transformation journey, moving from a state-led economy towards one driven by the private sector.

“Reforms can bring huge benefits and can present a lot of challenges. WTO accession can create demanding external pressure, which is an effective driver of a much-needed economic transformation,” said Zhang.

Ethiopia is currently opening up its financial and telecom sectors, among others, in what analysts see as key for WTO accession.

WTO members have commended Ethiopia’s efforts, encouraging further domestic reforms and regular updates on developments.

Many expressed the hope that Ethiopia could join the WTO as soon as possible, highlighting that WTO membership would support the country’s integration into the multilateral trading system and further its goals of sustainable economic development. Some also noted the significant amount of work remaining in both bilateral and multilateral negotiations, highlighting that progress should be measured in substance rather than timeline.

Noting that the “productive discussions” at the meeting gave “greater clarity on what is expected from Ethiopia going forward”, the Working Party Chair, Rebecca Fisher-Lamb (United Kingdom), praised Ethiopia for its “opening up efforts” and welcomed the “interest by all members to get into the details.”

She encouraged all parties to intensify and accelerate engagement while acknowledging the clock is ticking. Fisher-Lamb underlined the need to “sustain the technical momentum built so far” and to focus on “resolving the outstanding issues and registering concrete progress until the next meeting.”

The WTO has 166 members.

Ethiopia first requested accession in 2003, with the organization consequently forming a working party to evaluate. No less than 56 working party countries have conducted meetings with Ethiopia so far.

“Our WTO negotiation achieved substantial results within the last year. We conducted two working party negotiations within the last six months. No country has done this. Even one working party meeting involves a lot of documents and back and forth,” said Kassahun.

He attributed the success to Ethiopia’s economic reforms.

“At the bilateral level, 22 countries have been negotiating with Ethiopia, of which 18 are active. In addition, 30 countries and organizations, including the World Bank, supported Ethiopia’s WTO membership. The seventh working party meeting will take place in January 2026. Some challenges remain. Some negotiators undermine our offers. But negotiation is all mutual. Back at home, we are providing solutions to every question through revising policies,” added the Minister.