Algeria still seeks joining WTO

Algeria's Trade Minister Mustapha Benbada announced that negotiations are still ongoing to allow his country to join World Trade Organization (WTO), Algeria Press Service (APS) reported on Wednesday. The Minister told the press that the 11th round of talks with WTO's Secretary General will be scheduled before the year end. He added that this time talks will be "decisive" and will serve the best economic interest of the country. He noted that Algeria's partnership with the European Union (EU) would not be affected if it joined WTO. He added that what concerns Algeria at the moment is to protect its economic rights within a frame of international regulations which can only be seen if his country joined the international economic body. It is the second time for the talks to be postponed, as it had been deferred from June to July due to the Algerian parliamentary elections in May. Algeria has been engaged in seeking access to the WTO since June 1987, but negotiations officially started in 1996.