LONDON, October 17 (RIA Novosti) - Ukraine plans to join the World Trade Organization (WTO) in December, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko said Monday.
"Work is continuing, and we plan to make Ukraine ready to join the WTO in December of this year. Three-quarters of preparations for this have already been completed," the president said.
Work is now being done to improve the regulatory framework for trade and economic relations between Ukraine and the United States, Australia, and several other countries, he said.
At least five laws and several dozen legal amendments, related to intellectual property rights and customs procedures, must be passed in order to bring Ukraine in line with WTO norms.
"By the end of this week, [the Ukrainian] parliament should pass some of these legal amendments."
"I am entirely certain that we are able to complete these tasks, since from an economic standpoint, they are not particularly complicated," the president said.
