PARIS, May 16: The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, acknowledging that it must adapt to a changing global economy, on Wednesday invited Russia and four other nations to join OECD membership talks.
The 30-member OECD, which tries to coordinate economic policies among industrialised countries, could now expand to include Russia, Estonia, Chile, Israel and Slovenia.
But it also held out the possibility that emerging market powerhouses Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and South Africa could eventually join the club and said priority would also be accorded southeast Asia.
“OECD countries agreed to invite Chile, Estonia, Israel, Russia and Slovenia to open discussions for membership of the organisation and offered enhanced engagement, with a view to possible membership, to Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and South Africa,” the organisation said in a statement during its annual ministerial meeting.
In Moscow, Andrei Kondakov, head of the economic cooperation department at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, hailed the news.
“It's something we've been waiting for 11 years,” he said.
The OECD added that “in light of its growing importance in the world economy, priority will be given to South East Asia with a view to identifying countries for possible membership.” The organisation argues that enlargement is necessary because the OECD's share of world trade and output has declined as other countries take steps toward integration into the global economy.
When the OECD was founded in 1961, its membership represented 75 per cent of global wealth. Today it accounts for only 60 per cent, and rapid growth in Brazil, Russia, India, China could eventually reduce its share to around 50 per cent, OECD Secretary general Angel Gurria has said.
“In order to remain an influential voice in the world economy, through policy analysis, dialogue and rule making, the OECD must strengthen its links with other countries,” the organisation said on Wednesday.
It said the accession process can take time because it requires assessments of a country's ability to meet OECD standards in a wide range of policy areas.
“This makes it difficult to bring on board more than a small number of new members at the same time. That is why the OECD wishes to start accession negotiations with a few countries now, while at the same time strengthening its relations, with a view to possible membership, with other major economies,” it added.—AFP
