11/12/2012 (Agence Europe) - World Trade Organisation (WTO) door opens for Tajikistan. The general council of the multilateral organisation which governs world trade admitted into its ranks, on Monday 10 December Tajikistan, a former USSR republic in Central Asia. Dushanbe is expected to ratify the agreements necessary for accession by June 2013. Tajikistan, which had presented its request for membership in May 2001, should thus become the 159th member country of the World Trade Organisation. It has pledged to apply maximum customs duties of 10.4% for agricultural products and 7.6% for other products. Commissioner Karel De Gucht welcomed this accession which, he said, will serve as a driving force for economic development in the whole of Central Asia. (EH/transl.jl)