Uzbekistan's Bid for WTO Membership Hinges on Major Trade Reforms

The Uzbek government appears willing to loosen its control over the flow of information within Central Asia’s most populous nation as part of a comprehensive reform initiative to enhance its membership qualifications for the World Trade Organization. President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has expressed a desire for Uzbekistan to gain WTO membership as soon as 2026. WTO membership status is granted after a lengthy negotiation process overseen on the organization’s side by what is known as a “working party.” A working party was established…