UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — India and Ethiopia Sign Bilateral Accession Protocol for Ethiopia’s WTO Membership in Geneva

Q1. In the context of a country's accession to the WTO, the term 'Working Party' most precisely refers to which one of the following?

  • A. A body of WTO members constituted to examine the applicant's trade regime and negotiate the terms of its accession
  • B. A quasi-judicial panel appointed to settle trade disputes that arise between the applicant and existing members
  • C. A standing organ of the United Nations that certifies whether a country is economically ready for WTO membership
  • D. A team of the applicant country's own officials tasked with drafting domestic trade legislation before joining

Q2. The India–Ethiopia bilateral accession protocol of May 2026 was signed on behalf of India by the lead Indian official at Geneva, who is which of the following?

  • A. India's Permanent Representative (Ambassador) to the WTO
  • B. India's Union Minister of Commerce and Industry
  • C. India's Commerce Secretary in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry
  • D. India's Ambassador to the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia

Q3. In 2025 Ethiopia's WTO accession was described as having entered a 'decisive phase'. In this context, that description most precisely signified that:

  • A. Ethiopia was nearing conclusion of both its bilateral market-access deals and the multilateral rulebook negotiations, ahead of MC14
  • B. Ethiopia had already become a full WTO member, with only formal ratification pending
  • C. Ethiopia's Working Party had just been established to begin examining its trade regime for the first time
  • D. Ethiopia had been granted WTO observer status and could attend Ministerial Conferences

Q4. The WTO's 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14), by which Ethiopia targeted completing its accession, was held in March 2026 in which city?

  • A. Yaoundé, Cameroon
  • B. Nairobi, Kenya
  • C. Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
  • D. Geneva, Switzerland

Q5. Including MC14 at Yaoundé (2026), how many WTO Ministerial Conferences have been hosted on the African continent?

  • A. One
  • B. Two
  • C. Three
  • D. Four

Q6. India's Duty-Free Tariff Preference (DFTP) Scheme for Least Developed Countries is operationalised by which one of the following?

  • A. Ministry of Commerce and Industry
  • B. Ministry of External Affairs
  • C. Ministry of Finance
  • D. NITI Aayog

Q7. As of 2026, following the accession of Timor-Leste, the World Trade Organization has how many members?

  • A. 164
  • B. 165
  • C. 166
  • D. 172

Q8. Which one of the following correctly describes Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia?

  • A. A landlocked national capital that also hosts the headquarters of the African Union
  • B. A coastal port city that serves as the seat of the AfCFTA Secretariat
  • C. The city that hosts the Secretariat of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA)
  • D. The headquarters city of the World Trade Organization