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Published On: Sat, Jun 1st, 2013

Colombia OECD, a place at the top table awaits

Ocde

Colombia has begun accession talks on entering the prestigious Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), it was announced Thursday. Ministers from each of the 34 member states agreed to invite Colombia to begin negotiations during the annual meeting of the organisation in Paris.

It means that Colombia is set to join the elite club of 34 of the most economically developed liberal democracies in the world, including the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom. Colombia will be the third country from Latin America after Mexico and Chile to join the organisation which was originally set up in 1961.

President Santos was in jubilant mood speaking after the announcement:

“It means that we will increasingly improve the quality of our public policies, and now they’re going to measure ourselves with the highest standards. It means that it will further increase the confidence of investors in our country, which translates into more jobs, more competitiveness, and better living conditions for all Colombians.”

He proclaimed: “Only the best are invited, and Colombia, fortunately, is one of them”.

Current members of the OECD spoke out in favour of the decision, including Spain which expressed its “full support” for the decision, and the United Kingdom which claimed that Colombia had the “dedication” and “political will” to succeed as a member.

The Secretary-General of the OECD, Angel Gurría said that Colombia “will make a valuable contribution to enrich our collective experience and strengthen OECD as a source of effective and innovative public policies.”

Colombia Politics view

President Santos set membership of the OECD as a central aim of his presidency as soon as he entered the Casa de Nariño. This is an evident success for the government. With this move Colombia continues to move away from her neighbours who appear to continue to follow a path towards economic illiberalism and authoritarianism.

Will this mean anything for the “man on the street”? Probably not, at least in the short term. Nevertheless, government policy is already been set with the OECD´s “rules” in mind. The tax reform law which came into effect early this year is widely recognised as a major nod to the OECD´s positions on treasury revenue rasing methods, and job creation.

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