MOSCOW, February 13 (Itar-Tass) – President Vladimir Putin will meet with Jose Angel Gurria, Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), to discuss Russia’s accession to this Organisation.
The agenda of the talks will also include cooperation within the framework of Russia’s presidency in the Group of Twenty and the Group of Eight, the presidential press service said on Wednesday, February 13.
Putin and Gurria intend to discuss “cooperation between Russia and the OECD within the framework of Russia’s presidency in the Group of Twenty in 2013 and in the Group of Eight in 2014,” the presidential press service said. “Russia wants the G8 to remain an important mechanism for coordinating approaches to global political, socioeconomic and humanitarian issues, and the rich experience and expert potential of the OECD can be used when drafting the agenda for our presidency and filling it with substance.”
Key aspects of Russia’s admission to the OECD will also be discussed. The accession talks have been on since 2009 on the basis of the Road Map approved by the OECD Council in 2007.
“Russia pay more attention to the qualitative aspects of admission rather than the timing,” the presidential press service said.
Russia has satisfied two key conditions for admission to the OECD: in February 2012, it joined the Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions; in August 2012, it ratified the protocol on accession to the World Trade Organisation.
In 2013, Russia has become a full member of the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency. “Participation in its work will allow us to develop cooperation with other OECD member states in the field of building and operating nuclear power plants, and improving nuclear safety of the energy sector as a whole (the Nuclear Energy Agency’s member states account for 85 percent of global nuclear energy production),” the presidential press service said.
In January, the first of the OECD’s 22 working bodies – Centre for Tax Policy and Administration – recognised Russia’s fiscal legislation as complying with the Organisation’s requirements. OECD reviews of the Russian economy, labour market and social policy indicate that Russia largely meets the Organisation’s standards.
This will be the second meeting between Putin and Gurria. They met for the first time in Los Cabos, Mexico, on June 19, 2012 on the sidelines of the G20 Summit.
The Russian government maintains regular contact with the OECD leadership. On January 17, 2013, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov met with Gurria during his visit to Moscow.