Costa Rica’s Congress approves the country’s accession to the OECD

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Costa Rican Congress approved this Monday, May 17, in the second and final vote, the country’s accession to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which was celebrated by the Government.

“Thanks to the joint effort of the three governmental branches of the Republic and its long-term vision, the country is at the doorstep of becoming a member of the OECD. Working with this organization will continue to be a cornerstone for the sustainable and inclusive development of our country,” said Costa Rican President Carlos Alvarado in a statement.

For his part, the Minister of Foreign Trade and national coordinator of Costa Rica’s accession process to the OECD, Andrés Valenciano, thanked the deputies and emphasized their commitment to achieving the approval of 14 laws during the last phase of the process, as well as the approval of the Accession Agreement.

“The OECD is a strategic ally of our country, a source of expert knowledge and advice for the generation of quality public policies, for the benefit of citizens. The imminent entry into this organization is also a reflection of Costa Rica’s commitment to multilateralism, of our desire to serve as a beacon of good practices for the Latin American region,” Valenciano said.

After this legislative approval, which was given in a vote of 40 in favor and 3 against, it only remains for the law to be signed by President Alvarado and for Costa Rica to deposit the instrument of accession with the authorities in France, headquarters of the organization.

In May 2020, Costa Rica received the formal invitation to join the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), after a 5-year accession process that required the endorsement of 22 committees of the organization in various economic, social and political areas.

At that stage, the committees of the organization issued recommendations for Costa Rica to establish an agenda of reforms and measures that the State has been implementing in recent years.

Costa Rica will be the 38th member of the OECD and the fourth in Latin America – alongside Chile, Mexico and Colombia – which the Government qualifies as a historic milestone for the Central American country.

The process of Costa Rica’s accession to the international organization began during the government of Laura Chinchilla (2010-2014), continued in the government of Luis Guillermo Solís (2014-2018) and ends in the current government of Carlos Alvarado (2018-2022).