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Event

OECD Expansion in Latin America

Date & Time

Thursday
Apr. 18, 2024
3:00pm – 4:30pm ET

Location

6th Floor Flom Auditorium, Woodrow Wilson Center
and Online

Overview

Membership in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is highly coveted as a signal to investors of a country’s commitment to democracy and the free market. The multiyear application process helps drive political consensus and reform, and participation in the OECD encourages continuity in public policy.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, the OECD provides technical assistance to address inequality and strengthen public health and education systems. However, only four of the organization’s 38 members are in the region, Mexico (1994), Chile (2010), Colombia (2020), and Costa Rica (2021). Notably, the list excludes two of the three biggest economies in the region. In 2022, the OECD announced a historic expansion in Latin America, inviting Argentina, Brazil, and Peru to pursue membership. 

How have the region’s OECD members benefited from engagement with the organization? What would Argentina, Brazil, and Peru gain from membership? What are their near-term prospects for admittance? Please join the Wilson Center’s Latin America Program on Thursday, April 18, from 3:00pm to 4:30pm ET, for a special discussion about the OECD’s Latin America agenda and the future of its regional expansion.

Keynote Speaker

Mathias Cormann

Mathias Cormann

Secretary General, OECD 

Panelists

Manuel Tovar

Manuel Tovar

Minister of Commerce, Costa Rica
Daniel Barco Rondán

Daniel Barco Rondán

Vice minister of Economy, Peru
Cataline Crane

Catalina Crane

Former senior presidential adviser, Colombia 
Gita Kothari

Gita Kothari

OECD Accession Coordinator and Deputy Director of the Directorate for Legal Affairs, OECD

Hosted By

Latin America Program

The Wilson Center’s prestigious Latin America Program provides non-partisan expertise to a broad community of decision makers in the United States and Latin America on critical policy issues facing the Hemisphere. The Program provides insightful and actionable research for policymakers, private sector leaders, journalists, and public intellectuals in the United States and Latin America. To bridge the gap between scholarship and policy action, it fosters new inquiry, sponsors high-level public and private meetings among multiple stakeholders, and explores policy options to improve outcomes for citizens throughout the Americas. Drawing on the Wilson Center’s strength as the nation’s key non-partisan policy forum, the Program serves as a trusted source of analysis and a vital point of contact between the worlds of scholarship and action.  Read more

Brazil Institute

The Brazil Institute—the only country-specific policy institution focused on Brazil in Washington—works to foster understanding of Brazil’s complex reality and to support more consequential relations between Brazilian and US institutions in all sectors. The Brazil Institute plays this role by producing independent research and programs that bridge the gap between scholarship and policy, and by serving as a crossroads for leading policymakers, scholars and private sector representatives who are committed to addressing Brazil’s challenges and opportunities.  Read more

Mexico Institute

The Mexico Institute seeks to improve understanding, communication, and cooperation between Mexico and the United States by promoting original research, encouraging public discussion, and proposing policy options for enhancing the bilateral relationship. A binational Advisory Board, chaired by Luis Téllez and Earl Anthony Wayne, oversees the work of the Mexico Institute.   Read more

Wahba Institute for Strategic Competition

The Wahba Institute for Strategic Competition works to shape conversations and inspire meaningful action to strengthen technology, trade, infrastructure, and energy as part of American economic and global leadership that benefits the nation and the world.  Read more

Thank you for your interest in this event. Please send any feedback or questions to our Events staff.