| Iraq was formally approved Wednesday as an observer to the World Trade Organization - a first step to gaining membership in the body. The WTO’s ruling General Council agreed by consensus to accept the Iraqi application. Observer status gives the nation the right to attend meetings and hold some talks with WTO member countries. Observers have no formal say in decisions by the body, which sets rules on international trade, but neither are they bound by them. Ahmad al-Mukhtar, director general of foreign economic relations at Iraq’s ministry of trade, thanked the 146-nation WTO for its approval. "After decades of isolation, Iraq is beginning to rejoin the international community and your decision today sends a positive signal to the people of Iraq that they are welcomed back and that the world really cares about their welfare," he said. Al-Mukhtar said that observer status would give the Iraqi government a better understanding of the WTO. "It will assist us in adopting WTO-consistent laws and regulations and Iraqis who have been forced into isolation by the previous regime will get the chance to benefit from the vast resources available at the WTO." |