Latvia signs Agreement on Accession to the OECD

On Thursday 2 June, Prime Minister Māris Kučinskis and Angel Gurría, Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), signed the Agreement on Accession of Latvia to the OECD in Paris.

Upon ratification of the agreement at the Saeima of the Republic of Latvia, Latvia will officially become the 35th member state of the organization.

The Prime Minister pointed out that the OECD membership has been Latvia's objective for twenty years, but membership itself has never been the singular goal. “The accession process of Latvia to the OECD has already brought significant benefits and improvements - it has been the driving force behind the reform of state-owned capital companies' governance and has served as an additional incentive to enhance our capacity to counter bribery in international business transactions,” said M. Kučinskis.

At the same time he pointed out that Latvia must accomplish the implementation of OECD recommendations, and make responsible decisions which would allow for economic development, rather than resting on laurels.

OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría stressed that Latvia has managed to implement a variety of reforms within three years, thereby making great progress in a short period of time. “I am convinced that Latvia and its residents will benefit from OECD membership,” said A. Gurría.

The Agreement on Accession of Latvia to the OECD was signed at the OECD Ministerial Council Meeting on 2 June. The OECD Ministerial Council Meetings are held once a year. A high-level forum was also held alongside the meeting where international experts, representatives of business and academic circles, and public organizations addressed the same issues. 

The Minister for Finance, Dana Reizniece-Ozola and the Vice-President of the European Commission, Valdis Dombrovskis also attended the signing ceremony.