Kazakhstan will join the World Trade Organization's (WTO) rules on domestic regulation of services. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Sputnik Kazakhstan.
According to the Ministry of Trade, Qūryltai approved in the first reading the draft Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan "On Ratification of Amendments to the List of Specific Commitments of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Services, which is an annex to the Protocol on the Accession of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization of 15 April 1994".
History of WTO accession
Kazakhstan joined the WTO in 2015 by ratifying the relevant protocol. The protocol includes 18 annexes containing Kazakhstan's commitments on access to goods and services markets. One of them is the List of Specific Commitments on Services.
By ratifying the amendments to this List, Kazakhstan will join the WTO rules on domestic regulation of services. These rules are aimed at ensuring a predictable business climate by increasing the transparency of conditions for conducting activities in the services sector.
Content of the document
The document includes licensing requirements and procedures, qualification requirements, as well as standards in the services sector.
"By joining these rules, Kazakhstan demonstrates that the domestic services market, in terms of licensing and regulation of services, meets world requirements. Thus, the attractiveness of Kazakhstan's services market for foreign investors increases," the statement says.
It is expected that the adoption of the rules will contribute to ensuring fair and transparent regulation of trade in services, simplifying administrative procedures, increasing the transparency of regulatory requirements, and creating favorable conditions for foreign and domestic service providers.
International cooperation
According to the deputies, the rules were developed with the participation of a group of 60 WTO members, and Kazakhstan actively participated in the development process.
The Declaration on the conclusion of negotiations on domestic regulation of services was adopted on 2 December 2021 in Geneva. Today, 72 participating countries have joined the Rules.