“Negotiations started the moment I made my presentation and represented the country at the working party,” he said in an interview yesterday.

He said that kick-started our negotiations, which are expected to lead to Seychelles joining the world body – probably in 2014.

Mr Faure said Seychelles’ team is now carrying out bilateral talks with other members of the WTO at either their or our request.

“On Monday November 22 we had our first bilateral meeting with the European Commission (EC), and on Tuesday we had another at the request of the United States,” he added.

He said the first bilateral arrangement has been signed with the Sultanate of Oman, which is chairing the working party and also acting as our “godmother” in the accession process.

He announced to the members that a bilateral agreement has been signed between Seychelles and Oman on the basis of Seychelles’ initial goods and services offer.

“Seychelles will be getting technical help from Oman for the process,” said Mr Faure.
He said from now onwards there will be an exchange of correspondence involving questions from other members, which Seychelles is expected to answer.

Mr Faure said he answered many questions from countries that feel they have interests to safeguard here, but added there will be many benefits to be derived from joining the WTO.

At the meeting he highlighted the major reforms Seychelles has carried out over the past two years and also the vulnerabilities and special features of small economies.

The VP said members of the working party congratulated Seychelles on its re-engagement with the WTO, and statements made by the US, the EC, Australia and Japan indicated that they were pleased to see the Seychelles delegation in Geneva and looked forward to negotiating the country’s entry to the mutual benefit of all parties.

“The Omani delegation strongly supported Seychelles’ speedy accession to the organisation, noting that we have a relatively liberalised trade regime and are operating a free-market economy,” he added.

Mr Faure also met the director general of the WTO, Pascal Lamy, who expressed the willingness of the organisation to help Seychelles accede and advised of the need for a conducive and compatible legal framework.

This second working party took place many years after Seychelles made its first submission of offers, and sets the scene for much more work to be done, especially on the legislative front.

“This is a critical element to determine Seychelles’ level of compliance to WTO principles and hence determine the speed with which Seychelles does eventually accede,” he said.

“The next step therefore is to resume the domestic consultations with the many stakeholders so that the next round of submission may be done well in advance of the next working party meeting, which is provisionally set for mid-2011.”