The following is excerpted from a 26 October 2012 news item by the World Trade Organization.
WTO members meeting as the General Council on 26 October 2012 have agreed to Laos joining the organization, paving the way for the southeast Asian country to become a member in early 2013.
The deal — the Protocol of Accession — was signed after the meeting by Laos’ chief negotiator, Industry and Commerce Minister Nam Viyaketh, and WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy. Copies will be submitted to the National Assembly in Vientiane. All that remains is for Laos — officially the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR) — to ratify the membership package, and 30 days later it will become a member, over 15 years after it first applied to join the WTO.
This item is available in its entirety at:
http://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news12_e/acc_lao_26oct12_e.htm