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Seychelles has started its first policy review with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to identify gaps in existing policies to improve transparency and attract more investors
Seychelles has started its first policy review with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to identify gaps in existing policies to improve transparency and attract more investors. The review, which was anticipated for some time, will be done in a three-day working session in the island nation with representatives from WTO. There will be presentations, questions, and answers at the interface. There will be a review of the current status of the country’s trade-related legislative, policy, and institutional frameworks in the various sectors of the economy.
The review is a precursor to the trade policy review scheduled for December 5 and 7 in Geneva. The exercise will help the island nation to address some of the transparency issues raised by WTO and trade bodies like OECD.
Veronique Brutus, the trade attaché at the Permanent Mission of Seychelles to the UN Office and other international organizations in Geneva, told reporters recently that the review would help Seychelles re-look at its trade policies, their gaps and help the Island country to frame WTO complaint trade and investment rules and regulations. It will also enable the country to conduct the trade in a better manner signaling more confidence to the investors since it can bring about a lot of transparency in the operation of rules and regulations.
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On the other hand, Seychelles will be able to put forth concerns and difficulties it is facing. Seychelles’ accession to WTO was some seven years ago as 161st member in 2015. The country is attaching a lot of importance to the December review. The WTO officials consider the review as a unique opportunity for the country to explain shortcomings to the members, given the geographical situation and other limitations that the country may have. WTO normally takes a lenient view of such challenges the individual country is facing.
It is expected that WTO members might appreciate the situation and offer suggestions on how Seychelles could use the multilateral trading system of WTO to enhance its participation and to get more benefits from its membership.
