"We will try to complete all the work on this issue this year. All the conditions for this exist," she told reporters. "I believe that there is no problem whatsoever if it (accession to the WTO) takes place in the first half of 2012."
Kazakhstan has said it will coordinate its accession to the WTO with its neighbour Russia, which remains the largest economy outside the 153-member body.
A Russian official said this week that Moscow's talks to join the WTO would extend into May 2011, suggesting that they might not be completed before the spring session of the WTO body that approves membership.
Last year, the two countries and Belarus formed a customs union and launched free-trade talks with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), comprising Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. (Reuters)
