02/05/2024 - Ministers have welcomed the adoption of an Accession Roadmap for Argentina during the 2024 Meeting of the OECD Council at Ministerial Level.
The opening session of the OECD Ministerial meeting featured a ceremony in which OECD Secretary General Mathias Cormann formally delivered the OECD Accession Roadmap to Argentina's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ms. Diana Mondino.
Since 1982, Argentina has participated in the substantive work of many of the OECD's technical committees and adhered to 58 OECD legal instruments ranging in focus from agriculture to education to public governance. As a G20 country, Argentina participated in the development of standards for better global governance, including by supporting the Organisations' international tax reform agenda, such as the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Project as well as the OECD-G20 Principles of Corporate Governance. In 2017, Argentina further strengthened its co-operation with the OECD with the adoption of a tailored Action Plan designed to mobilise OECD support for key reform priorities.
"Argentina has been a valuable contributor to OECD work for over four decades. In 2018, we supported Argentina's ambitious G20 Presidency on the future of work, private finance for infrastructure and sustainable food systems. Since 2018, Argentina has also hosted the OECD Latin America Academy for Tax and Financial Crime Investigation in Buenos Aires, which makes an important and effective contribution to domestic resource mobilisation in the region. To date, we have supported Argentina's adherence to 58 OECD legal instruments, and we have provided advice on a range of policy priorities, including the modernisation of the national statistical system and macroeconomic policies," OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann said. "We welcome Argentina's decision to move forward with OECD accession discussions. OECD accession is a positive transformative process that will anchor reforms in OECD standards and best practices to help deliver improved economic development and growth and increases in living standards for the people of Argentina."
The OECD Council decided to take the first step in opening accession discussions with Argentina, as well as five other countries, on 25 January 2022. This followed careful deliberation by OECD Members, including on the basis of its evidence-based Framework for Consideration of Prospective Members.
The Accession Roadmaps set out the terms, conditions and process for accession and reflect priority areas identified by OECD Members for accession to the Organisation. The ensuing accession process will include a rigorous and in-depth evaluation by 26 technical committees of Argentina's alignment with OECD standards, policies and practices.
The technical reviews will cover almost every area of public policy, including open trade and investment, public governance, integrity and anti-corruption efforts, as well as the effective protection of the environment and action on climate.
As a result of these technical reviews, committees may recommend changes to Argentina's legislation, policy and practices to bring them further into line with OECD standards and best practices, thus serving as a powerful tool to ensure sound and long-lasting reforms.
There is no deadline for completion of the accession processes. The outcome and timeline depend on the pace at which each candidate country adapts and adjusts to further align with the Organisation's standards and best practices. Once all the technical committees have completed their reviews, a final and unanimous decision must be taken by all Member countries in the OECD Council in order to extend an invitation for Membership.
