The Republic of Congo must diversify its economy away from a high reliance on oil exploitation, the WTO stated in a report on Wednesday.

The World Trade Organization Secretariat released a report on Congo's trade policies which noted that improvements have been made since 2002, but that additional reforms are necessary.

Congo has pursued a macroeconomic stabilization and structural reform program since its political stabilization in 2002 after a decade of civil war. The program has greatly improved the country's business climate, the report stated.

The program, along with the surge in world prices, increased domestic production and higher exports of petroleum, have all contributed to the country's growth. According to the report, the real GDP has increased at an average annual rate of 4.2 percent during the period 2002-2005.

One of the main objectives of the country's poverty reduction strategy is to diversify the economic base by stimulating agriculture, mining, forestry and downstream processing, since the economy is dominated by petroleum exploitation.

Wto