MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazil files key memorandum to join OECD

Joining the OECD opens the door to perhaps a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, explained Guedes.

The Government of Brazil has taken yet another step toward joining the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) by sending the initial memorandum of accession, it was reported Thursday. The OECD brings together the most industrialized economies on the planet.

The initial memorandum serves as a basis for evaluating the country's alignment with the group's commitments. The document was another stop in the roadmap for Brazil's accession to the group, approved by the OECD in June.

Sent by letter dated September 30, the 1,170-page memorandum was released in detail Thursday during a ceremony at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia.

The document assesses the degree of alignment of the candidate country's legislation, policies, and practices with the standards set by the OECD in 32 different sectors. Among the areas analyzed are trade, investment, digital economy, health, education, environment, competition, tourism, and nuclear energy.

The level of compliance with each of the 230 OECD standards was analyzed, 208 of which are indispensable for joining the organization. According to the Brazilian government, the country has adhered to 108 standards and is in the process of adhering to 45 more.

“The initial memorandum will serve as a basis for future technical discussions of the working group with the organization. Brazil seeks to ally itself with what is most modern in the world and with developed countries”, said Chief of Staff Ciro Nogueira.

“The strengthening of relations with the OECD, once it culminates with Brazil's entry into the organization, will help us deal with our bottlenecks and our deficiencies, the famous Brazil-Cost,” explained Foreign Minister Carlos França.

Economy Minister Paulo Guedes argued that joining the OECD will help Brazil consolidate itself as one of the main economies on the planet. According to him, the process opens the door to important international organizations, such as a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council. “Brazil, after the end of the access process, will be the only country at the same time in the OECD, in the G20, and the BRICS. This opens the door for the country to perhaps join the United Nations Security Council [permanently],” explained Guedes.

In January of this year, Brazil received the invitation letter to start the OECD accession process. Besides Brazil, the organization invited five countries: Argentina, Peru, Romania, Bulgaria, and Croatia.

The country submitted an accession plan, which was approved by the OECD in June. The schedule foresaw the delivery of the memorandum before the end of the year. The work of analyzing Brazil's alignment with OECD standards involved 972 federal government technicians from 26 ministries.

Without a specific deadline, the process of joining the OECD will end when, after technical reviews, the Council decides to extend a formal invitation to Brazil to join the organization.

(Source: Agencia Brasil)