On Tuesday, November 13, President Carlos Alvarado participated in a working session with the Minister of Foreign Trade (Dyalá Jiménez) at the headquarters of the Organization for Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris. There, he reaffirmed Costa Rica’s intention to become a member of the organization by 2020, and thus be able to access policies that “bring welfare to people”. The president hopes that Costa Rica can become the 4th Latin American OECD member state (after Chile, Mexico and Colombia) and 38th member state overall.

In order to achieve this, the President stressed the importance of achieving sound public finances (in reference to the tax reform under way) and said his government has been consistent with the implementation of better public policies since he took office. However, Alvarado also stressed that the OECD’s aim is “to show a series of recommendations to understand where we are and where we can go,” although the decisions are at the discretion of each nation.

Alvarado believes that Costa Rica’s joining of the the OECD will benefit the country, since it will profit from the organism’s recommendations and public policy good practice, which can improve the functioning of its state apparatus. The government’s intention is not only to learn from what the rest of the member states do, but also to contribute in areas such as law and order, the environment and tourism, among others. During the visit, there was also a meeting with the Secretary General (Ángel Gurría) and a presentation before the Council of the organization focused on Costa Rican advantages in terms of infrastructure, renewable energies and, additionally, the bidding process for an electric train.