On Tuesday, the
Council of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) decided to invite Peru to start the process of accession to this institution. However, it is necessary to know what the OECD represents and what benefits it can bring to the country.
According to a document from the
National Center for Strategic Planning (CEPLAN), the OECD traces its roots back to the post-World War II, when European leaders agreed that the best way to ensure lasting peace was to encourage co-operation and reconstruction of the nations involved in the war.
Later, in 1961, the OECD was officially established as the successor to the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC), which oversaw the implementation of the Marshall Plan —a major element in the economic recovery of Europe and in the establishment of democratic regimes in Western Europe.
Since then, the OECD has focused its efforts to provide a space for its member countries (and for non-member countries) to dialogue and identify the best practices in various areas of their economies.
Currently, the OECD comprises 38 countries: Austria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
According to its official website, the OECD is an international organisation that works to build better policies for better lives. Its goal is to shape policies that foster prosperity, equality, opportunity, and well-being for all.
Together with governments, policy makers and citizens, the OECD works on establishing evidence-based international standards and finding solutions to a range of social, economic, and environmental challenges.
From improving economic performance and creating jobs to fostering strong education and fighting international tax evasion, the OECD provides a unique forum and knowledge hub for data and analysis, exchange of experiences, best-practice sharing, and advice on public policies and international standard-setting.
Peru and the OECD
CEPLAN finds that being a full member of the OECD is important for the economic and social development of Peru for several reasons.
"The main one has a symbolic meaning. It would mean a significant achievement for a country that until not long ago was still one of the many countries unable to overcome the trap of average income," it explains.
The process of rapprochement with the OECD has been gradual. In 2008, Peru was admitted as an observer member in the
OECD Investment Committee.
Then, in 2009, Peru joined the
OECD Development Centre, which is a space for analysis and the interchange of experiences on economic and social policies between developed and developing countries.
In the following years, Peru approached the OECD through the Competition and Consumer Policy Committees, as well as the OECD Working Group on Bribery.
In 2012, Peru expressed its formal interest in becoming a member of the Organisation for the first time and conveyed the same interest for a second time in 2017.
The OECD Ministerial Council agreed, in April 2014, to invite Peru to participate in the "Country Program," a mechanism that seeks to help a limited number of countries achieve OECD standards and practices —a process that the country underwent between 2014 and 2019.
In 2018, Peru became a Party to the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions (Anti-Bribery Convention) and the multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, with the aim of fighting corruption and fostering greater transparency and exchange of information.
(END) CNA/JJN/RMB
Published: 1/26/2022