Addis Ababa,Feb.13 (ENA)--Ethiopia's accession request to the membership of the World Trade Organization (WTO) has been accepted by member states of the organization, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

Member countries of the WTO expressed their support to Ethiopia's accession request at a meeting of the General Assembly of the organization held on 10 February, the Ministry quoted the office of Ethiopia's permanent representative to the UN in Geneva as saying.

Speaking on the occasion, Minister of Trade and Industry, Girma Birru explained about the implications of the WTO Conventions on the economic policies and development strategies of Ethiopia.

He also spelled out the efforts carried out to building institutional capacity and the support gained during Ethiopia's stay in WTO as associate member over the last five years.

The Minister expalined about the political and economic reforms, structural adjustment measures taken over the last ten years and plans set.

The membership request in WTO is complex and prolonged, he said, and urged member states and developed nations to back the human resource and institutional capacity building endeavors of developing countries aimed at qualifying for the membership.

Ethiopia, the seat of the African Union, has longstanding political, economic and historical relations with WTO member states, he said, adding making Ethiopia a member state of the WTO would help strengthen globalization and enhancing the economic growth and prosperity of the country.

Following Minister's address, members of the Assembly supported Ethiopia's accession request saying Ethiopia's economic reform measures were compliant with the criteria set for the membership of the organization.

The Assembly has decided to establish a working group that would facilitate Ethiopia's accession request.

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