The next round of consultations on Russia’s entry in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) will open at the Geneva WTO headquarters on Monday, Itar-Tass reports. The consultations involving the WTO states concerned are to last until the end of this week. The working group, which met in Geneva two weeks ago, decided to hold a new round of consultations. The working group met last time about a year ago.

Ten clauses of the report prepared by the working group are on the agenda of upcoming negotiations. To complete the negotiating process another 12 clauses are to be discussed. All in all, the report contains 46 clauses, and 24 clauses have already been coordinated.

The head of the Russian delegation during the negotiations on Russia’s accession in the WTO, Maxim Medvedkov noted that ten clauses on the agenda mainly concern customs administration issues, control over customs values, the application of customs procedures and the functioning of free economic zones.

Multilateral consultations will be held simultaneously on veterinary and phytosanitary measures. The issue of rice supplies will be discussed separately at the request of exporting countries.

Most countries, representatives of which spoke at the recent meeting of the working group, noted the necessity for the soonest end to the process of Russia’s entry in the WTO.

If forthcoming consultations will be successful, only another 12 clauses will remain for discussion in order to complete the work over the report of the working group and draft its new reading, which “will lay down the foundations for completing all negotiations,” Medvedkov pointed out. The negotiations on these clauses are expected at the beginning of autumn 2007.

The sides concerned have already agreed on the greater part of the remaining 12 clauses, the head of the Russian delegation said. “We have not come to terms yet about the permitted volume of state support to our agrarian and industrial complex,” Medvedkov indicated. However, he expressed hope that “all negotiations may be completed before the yearend.”