Mr. Jovan Jekic serves as a Senior WTO/Trade Advisor for USAID’s Competitiveness, Trade and Jobs (CTJ) in Central Asia Activity, based in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. He is a senior attorney with over 35 years of experience in international commercial law, intellectual property, customs rules and procedures, business regulatory environment, trade and investment policies. For the past 15 years, he has worked on donor-funded projects covering areas such as World Trade Organization (WTO) accession and business environment improvement, trade facilitation and related institutional capacity building. Mr. Jekic has worked extensively with USAID in Central Asia on economic development and trade projects. He served as the key advisor to the Minister of Economic Development and Trade in Tajikistan, on all matters related to the World Trade Organization, including fulfillment of commitments taken during the accession process, and compliance of laws and regulations with WTO rules and disciplines. He was instrumental in drafting the Post WTO Accession Action Plan, providing a detailed plan of further reform and trade liberalization in the period of five years following accession to the WTO. He also provided assistance in reorganizing the WTO Department within the Ministry and establishing a dedicated WTO Section within Tajikistan’s diplomatic mission in Geneva, Switzerland. Prior to that, for the USAID Regional Trade Liberalization and Customs Project (RTLC) in Central Asia, he led technical assistance related to WTO accession, customs reform and improved implementation of the business enabling policies in Tajikistan. Earlier, Mr. Jekic served as Chief of Party on the USAID WTO Accession Project for Serbia and Montenegro, where he played a key role in assisting Montenegro to conclude its WTO accession proceedings and bringing its foreign trade regime into full conformity with the WTO requirements. His work advanced the accession of Serbia and assisted in undertaking major legal and institutional reforms related to foreign trade regimes.
