Mr. Esengul Omuraliev, Head of the Kyrgyz's Republic's Inter-Ministerial Commission on WTO, signed the protocol of accession following the adoption of the protocol by the General Council. The Kyrgyz Republic will become a member of the WTO 30 days after it notifies the WTO Secretariat that its national ratification proceedings have been completed.

The Kyrgyz Republic first applied for WTO membership in February 1996. A working party was established in April 1996 and a first meeting was held in March 1997. Of the new republics created after the dissolution of the former Soviet Union in 1991 and which are currently seeking WTO membership, the Kyrgyz Republic is the first to have completed its negotiations. The following 30 governments have requested to join the WTO. Their applications are being considered by accession working parties: Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Cambodia, People's Republic of China, Croatia, Estonia, Georgia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Lithuania, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Moldova, Nepal, Oman, Sultanate of, Russian Federation, Samoa, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Sudan, Chinese Taipei, Tonga, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu and Vietnam(1)

(1) In addition to the Kyrgyz Republic, the General Council agreed on 14 October to also adopt the protocol of accession for Latvia.