Baghdad, The Ministry of Trade announced today, Thursday, the holding of the third negotiating meeting of Iraq with the World Trade Organization at the organization's headquarters in Geneva. The Ministry's statement stated that "the Minister of Trade, head of the team concerned with Iraq's accession to the World Trade Organization, headed the Iraqi side in the third negotiating meeting, in the presence of the Deputy Director-General of the Organization, Zhang Xing Chen, head of the working group for Iraq's accession, and the gentlemen, members of the team and representatives of the WTO countries." Minister Al-Ghariri pointed out during a speech he delivered at the meeting, the importance of Iraq being part of the rules-based multilateral trading system. The Minister stressed that we are pleased with the holding of the third meeting of the working group after sixteen years since the last meeting of the working group, which represents a fundamental step for us, the government and the people, on our way to jo ining, in addition to being a means through which we seek to achieve the development and diversification of our national economy and our integration with the global economy. The Minister pointed out that the Iraqi government is committed to its economic reform program by strengthening trade policy, improving the business environment and creating appropriate conditions for foreign investment, and that joining the World Trade Organization will contribute significantly to enhancing transparency, encouraging competition and stimulating sustainable economic growth for Iraq. He stressed that the new Iraqi government, led by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, and within its government program, has set a clear vision for the future of economic liberalization in Iraq, which included setting timetables for achieving the liberalization process and focusing on sectors with high potential such as agriculture, industry and services, which stipulated supporting local and foreign investments and unifying customs polic ies at all borders and other procedures to facilitate trade and investment and create investment opportunities. The Minister stressed that the government also attached special importance to aligning its trade policy and regulatory legislation with international capabilities, rules and standards and enhancing institutional capacities to effectively meet the requirements of the World Trade Organization. Source: National Iraqi News Agency