Costa Rica officially became a member of the OECD

PARIS.- Costa Rica officially became the 38th member of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the fourth Latin American country -after Mexico, Chile and Colombia-, a privilege to which the major economies of the region have not yet acceded, as Brazil and the Argentina.

“We are delighted to welcome Costa Rica to the OECD family at a time when multilateralism is more important than ever ”, underlined the secretary general of the organization, the Mexican Ángel Gurría.

The Costa Rican country has completed national ratification procedures for the OECD Convention and deposited its instrument of access, which represents a positive conclusion to the access process that started in April 2015.

Gurría expressed his impression of the commitment of all political blocs in the country to join the organization, despite the pandemic. “This reflects the importance of working together to design and implement better policies, and Costa Rica will undoubtedly represent a new beacon for the OECD in the region,” he added.

For his part, the President of Costa Rica, Carlos Alvarado, indicated on his Twitter account that the country will work on a “High level public policy” to your advantage. He also thanked former Presidents Luis Guillermo Solís and Laura Chinchilla for their efforts to achieve this goal.

OECD member countries have officially invited the Central American country to join the organization in May 2020, after a five-year membership process through which 22 committees of the body they subjected the country to various technical analyzes to introduce major reforms to align its legislation, policies and practices with agency standards.

These reforms cover a wide range of policy areas and include a reform of competitiveness policies, overhaul of national statistical systems and introduction of corporate criminal liability for corruption abroad and creation of a shareholder register to ensure tax transparency.

Founded in 1961, the OECD is dedicated to promoting policies for economic and social well-being. Its member countries are moving 60% of world trade and represent 80% of world GDP.

With a GDP of $ 107 billion, Costa Rica is the 11th largest economy in the region, but it surpasses other countries like Mexico, Brazil and Argentina with a GDP per capita of more than 12,000 dollars per year.

Brazil and Argentina have yet to qualify for admission to the OECD, although in Argentina’s case their relationship with the organization dates back to 1985.

In addition to recurring crises and economic imbalances, OECD analyzes of the Argentinian education system qualified it as “insufficient”, which would explain the lack of unanimity within the body to accept admission.

AFP and DPA agency

THE NATION