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Austrian minister optimistic about Russia joining WTO

He believes that Russia’s membership in WTO will open up new prospects for Austrian business people on the Russian market

VIENNA, December 16 (Itar-Tass) —— Russia’s joining of the World Trade Organization (WTO) will give “a positive impetus to the world economy,” says a statement of the Austrian Minister of Economy Reinhold Mitterlehner, which was circulated here on Friday.

He believes that Russia’s membership in WTO will open up new prospects for Austrian business people on the Russian market. According to his information, last year Austrian exports to Russia grew by 21.6 percent to reach 2.5 billion euros. The figure for the first three quarters of the current year grew by 15 percent as against the 2010 figure to reach 2.2 billion euros.

Commenting on the discussion started at the 8th ministerial conference of the WTO member countries, Mitterlehner suggested the tightening of control by WTO over the putting up of trade barriers. “In connection with the threat of the spreading of the debt crisis to the real economic sector, a return to protectionism on the national level would be an absolutely wrong strategy,” he said.