Joining the WTO

The Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Laos) and Tajikistan formally joined the WTO in 2013, raising WTO membership to 159. The Bali Ministerial Conference in December adopted the accession terms of Yemen and cleared the way for the country to join the WTO. The WTO provided further technical assistance to acceding governments, including a five-day seminar in Geneva. The China Programme, which aims to strengthen the participation of least-developed countries (LDCs) in the WTO, was extended for a further year.