China: Russia won admission to the World Trade Organisation on Friday after 18 years of negotiations, finally gaining full integration into the global economy. Russia Minister of Economic Development Elvira Nabiullina told ministers and trade representatives from all WTO members after the adoption of the accession agreement that it is an event both Russia and the World Community have been waiting for a long
time. "WTO members will get access to a common market of 165 million people (Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan),"she said. Russian lawmakers have six months to ratify the obligations that come with membership. With global trade talks at an impasse, the highlights of the WTO's biennial ministerial meeting that began yesterday are the accessions of Russia, Samoa and Montenegro and a landmark accord that opens up government-procurement contracts worth as much as US$100 billion to more foreign competition. U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday called his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev and congratulated him on Russia's accession into the WTO.Read Full: Russia joins World Trade Organisation - China.org.cn
