On November 6th, the House of Representatives floor passed a bill that stipulates the terms of accession of the Republic of Colombia to the Convention of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The bill will now be discussed in the plenary session of the Senate. If approved, it will pass into law and be ready for presidential enactment.

The ratification of the “Agreement on the Terms of Accession of the Republic of Colombia to the Convention of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development” is a requirement for the formalization of Colombia’s membership of the OECD. The legislators presenting the initiative argued that OECD membership would lend a stamp of authority to Colombia, citing the perception of other member countries as pursuing serious, responsible, transparent and fair policies; and enable the country to demand the highest social and environmental standards from national and foreign investors, as well as influence the global agenda and decision-making in those spaces where a cooperative and coordinated response is needed from multiple countries.

Colombia has been in negotiations to join the bloc since 2013, though the OECD only approved its entry May 25th this year. Former President of the Republic Juan Manuel Santos signed the country’s adhesion agreement May 30th, whilst still in office, so as to instigate the parliamentary process. Joining the OECD has been one of the priorities of Santos’s government, for whom “the accession process has set in motion processes of institutional reforms and has triggered very important internal reflections”. The OECD was created in 1961 with the objective of promoting world trade and economic development. It currently has 37 member countries, of which – save for Colombia – only two are in Latin America and the Caribbean: Mexico (since 1994) and Chile (since 2010).