WTO: Twelfth round of negotiations in Geneva on 31 March

ALGIERS- The 12th round of multilateral negotiations for Algeria's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) will take place in Geneva on 31 March, Trade Minister Mustapha Benbada told APS. "The 12th round will be devoted to the examination of the new report of the working group in charge of Algeria's accession to the WTO," said Benbada, adding that the previous report was submitted on 6 February. The new meeting will also examine "Algeria's answers to the additional questions of the members of the working group, as well as the new plan of legislative reforms submitted recently by Algeria," he said. "We hope that the new round will help the accession process progress," he said. Since the 11th round held in April 2013, Algeria has received 170 new questions or demands of explanations," he added. During that round, Algeria gained the support of several countries from the Asian group, including China, and also from Latin America. Benbada underlined that Algeria "is expecting a lot from its main trading partners, particularly the United States and the European Union member states, and also from partners which are members in the working group." "The new round will be followed by series of bilateral meetings with about ten WTO member states, from 1 to 3 April, and with which we have started negotiations since two years," said Benbada. These negotiations will be held with Canada, Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, Turkey and South Korea, among others.