year application process, ap reported. the acceptance by all wto members is necessary before a new member can be admitted, and tonga made a number of agreements with different countries on opening up its markets. the kingdom of tonga is pleased that its sustained efforts and commitment to a transparent and predictable trading environment have led to its successful membership of the wto and, through it, to a fuller integration with the world economy, said tonga)s trade minister feleti -sevele. --tonga)s membership was approved at a meeting of---- wto ministers in hong kong. it will officially become a member 30 days after the government has ratified the terms and notified the wto, likely in early 2006. the small south pacific island country has a population of about 112,000, with per capita annual income of about us$1,600. agriculture accounts for about 23 percent of gdp and services for 63 percent. wto chief pascal lamy called wto)s acceptance of tonga truly significant, making it the fourth pacific island state to join the wto after fiji, papua new guinea and the solomon islands. we will continue to work together to facilitate the effective involvement of small economies such as tonga in the work of our organization, lamy added. as part of its accession package, tonga has agreed to make several commitments to liberalize its trade regime, including lowering all import tariff lines to 15 or 20 percent within one year. the country will also have to eliminate all industrial subsidy schemes prohibited by the wto by the final date of its accession. but the international aid agency oxfam, citing leaked documents on the membership package, said tonga)s accession terms would put a great strain on the country because they force it to slash the tariffs it pays on its vital public services such as health and education. the country will also have to open many of its vital services to foreign companies ? including education, hospitals and telecommunication ? endangering access to essential services for the poor, oxfam said. this is one of the world)s smallest and most vulnerable economies, and the extortionist demands being made on it should have no place in a )development round,) said oxfam)s phil bloomer. --spa
