OECD intends to open office in Brazil, says Finance Minister

Finance Minister, Henrique Meirelles, said the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) intends to open an office in Brazil.

“We have agreed and will formalise this opening quickly", stated Meirelles after meeting with the OECD Secretary-General Angél Gurría, in Paris.

At the end of last month, the government submitted Brazil's request to join the 35-country international organisation, based on the principles of representative democracy and free market economy.

According to the spokesman of the Presidency of the Republic, Alexandre Parola, the Brazilian government has been following OECD activities since 1994 and in 2007, was invited to 'increase its engagement' with a view to possibly joining the organisation.

Meirelles said that the meeting today was 'extremely positive' and Gurría expressed 'to be very pleased' with Brazil's initiative to ask to join the group. “Joining the OECD is part of an economy modernisation agenda, adopting modern economic administration and normalisation standards", he said.

“The idea of the OECD is to be an organisation that brings together the most relevant countries in the world. Today, Brazil is one of those countries. An organisation that practices and demands modern economic administration, management, transparency, openness and ethical standards. And clearly, Brazil fits the bill. Everything that the OECD proposes we use already, being part of the country's reform agenda, "added Meirelles.