Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs, in conversation with OECD Secretary- General, emphasises support for the enlargement of the organisation

On 8 June in Paris, at the Meeting of the Council of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) at Ministerial Level, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Edgars Rinkēvičs, met with OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría, to discuss the process of preparing the OECD Economic Survey of Latvia, including the evaluation of the pension system, and the OECD’s cooperation with the Eastern Partnership and Central Asian countries.

The Minister asserted that Latvia will continue its support for the OECD remaining open to new members and expressed support for Lithuania and Colombia in the process of their accession negotiations with the OECD. It is essential to assess the candidates’ capabilities and achievements, said the Minister, while noting that the OECD accession process itself is no less important since it can be conducive for tangible change. Latvia’s experience is proof that the accession process offers significant support for vital domestic reforms, Edgars Rinkēvičs underlined.      

Minister Rinkēvičs invited Secretary-General to make a visit to Latvia in September, when a presentation of the OECD Economic Survey of Latvia has been planned during his stay. The report is expected to examine Latvia’s macroeconomic development and welfare aspects, including the use of business and social infrastructure.

On 7 June, the Foreign Minister signed, on behalf of Latvia, the OECD Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting, which is to close loopholes in the current bilateral tax treaties and lessen the opportunity for tax avoidance. At the same time, the signing of the Convention also implies making amendments to a large number of bilateral tax conventions which are outdated and not adapted to cross-border operations of modern companies.