Belarus is in the final stage of negotiations on joining the World Trade Organization (WTO), Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei said.

"We are indeed in the final stage. We hope that we will complete the negotiations with the remaining states within a short period of time,' Makei told reporters in Minsk on Friday.

"There are some 10-15 countries with which we need to complete negotiations, the minister said. "This systemic in interaction with the secretariat and WTO members enabled us to prepare a final document, a draft working group report," Makei said.

"We should work on the relevant working group document. We are now working closely on that and we conduct relevant consultations with our colleagues from other countries," he said.

The minister said Belarus is working on strengthening its positions in international trade. "Prompt accession to the WTO will promote the broadening of our trade and economic relations," he said.

"We are also thankful to our U.S. partners and our European partners for supporting the efforts made by Belarus to intensify the process of our accession to the WTO," he said.