WTO members adopted Seychelles’ WTO terms of entry at the General Council meeting on 10 December 2014. Seychelles will have until 1 June 2015 to ratify the deal to formally become a WTO member 30 days after it notifies the ratification to the WTO Director-General.

The deal – the Protocol on the Accession of the Republic of Seychelles – was officially signed on the margins of the General Council by WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo and Seychelles’ Minister of Finance, Trade and Investment, Pierre Laporte, and is subject to domestic ratification by Seychelles’ Parliament.

WTO members congratulated Seychelles while acknowledging that the accession process was long and challenging for a small island developing state like Seychelles. Seychelles’ accession to the WTO will strengthen the multilateral trading system and advance the WTO closer to the goal of trade universality, members stressed.

In his address to the membership, DG Azevêdo paid special tribute to the government of Seychelles for this “historic achievement” and for sending “a clear signal to all its trading partners that it is ready to engage fully in the multilateral trading system and in the global economy. Seychelles’ accession is another sign of the continued importance of the multilateral trading system.” His full speech is available here.

“Today is a historic day for Seychelles”, Minister Laporte declared. “WTO membership will bring immense benefits to our economy, from businesses to consumers. The Seychelles Government and its People have been looking forward for so long to be part of this international family. ”

His full speech is available here.

Ms Hilda Al-Hinai (Oman), Chairperson of the Working Party on the Accession of Seychelles, paid tribute to WTO members and to the delegation of Seychelles for the “continuous efforts, goodwill and spirit of compromise shown all around, particularly in the critical final stages. With the acceptance of each new member, the community of most-favoured nations continues to grow stronger and moves ever closer to becoming truly global.”

Seychelles originally applied for WTO membership in 1995 and the Working Party concluded the negotiations on 17 October 2014. The list of Seychelles’ commitments is available here.