Mr. Wanchat Suwannakitti, Deputy Secretary-General of the National Economic and Social Development Council, and NESDC officials attended the OECD External Relations Committee (ERC) meeting to report on the progress of the Country Programme (CP) Phase 2 implementation between Thailand and the OECD. The meeting was co-chaired by Ms. Anna Cameron, Deputy Permanent Representative of New Zealand to the OECD, and Ms. Dovile Pauzaite, Ambassador Counsellor of the Permanent Delegation of Lithuania to the OECD, with representatives from all 38 OECD member countries participating in the meeting from November 9-13, 2023, at OECD Headquarters in Paris, France.
The Deputy Secretary-General, as the representative of NESDC, which serves as the lead agency for overseeing, coordinating, monitoring, and evaluating the overall implementation of CP Phase 2, reported on the progress of the project implementation, which has been ongoing since the signing of the MOU between Thailand and the OECD in March 2023. He indicated that all 20 sub-projects under 4 cooperation areas have commenced implementation: (1) Good Governance, (2) Business Climate and Competitiveness, (3) Social Inclusion and Human Capital Development, and (4) Green Recovery. Thai agencies and the OECD have jointly organized various activities including seminars and workshops, questionnaire surveys and in-depth interviews, and the preparation of reports and policy recommendations. All projects have a 3-year timeframe and will be completed by March 2026.
The sub-projects under CP Phase 2 for which NESDC is responsible comprise 4 projects: (1) Maintaining a Sound Economic Policy through the Second Economic Survey, (2) Boosting Productivity, (3) Advancing Sustainable Infrastructure Programme in Thailand, and (4) Strategic Coordination, Monitoring and Evaluation. Implementation has progressed continuously, particularly Project 1, for which NESDC and the OECD are scheduled to jointly present Thailand’s Economic Assessment 2023, a key output of the project, on December 7, 2023, in Bangkok.
On this occasion, the Deputy Secretary-General emphasized the benefits Thailand will receive from implementing CP Phase 2, particularly promoting Thailand’s ability to become a party to additional OECD Legal Instruments and elevating Thailand’s status in OECD Committees to Participant and Associate/Member status to enhance Thailand’s role and participation in those committees, which will support Thailand’s future OECD membership. Representatives from OECD member countries including Australia, South Korea, Japan, the United Kingdom, Austria, the Netherlands, and Lithuania commended Thailand’s implementation under CP Phase 2 and expressed their willingness and readiness to support Thailand’s future membership.
Additionally, during the ERC meeting, the Deputy Secretary-General held bilateral discussions with Mr. Alexander Bohmer, Head of South and Southeast Asia, Global Relations and Co-operation Directorate (GRC) and GRC officials regarding Thailand’s preparation for submitting a letter of intent for OECD membership and the overall implementation approach. NESDC, as the coordinating agency, received readiness assessments for OECD membership from 40 relevant agencies, finding no obstacles to membership and providing additional recommendations for Thailand’s preparation. This represents a positive response from agencies to Thailand’s future application for OECD membership.
In this discussion, Mr. Alexander Bohmer explained the membership process in detail, particularly after submitting the letter of intent. The OECD Council, comprising all 38 OECD member countries, will deliberate to reach a unanimous decision to admit Thailand into the accession process. Subsequently, it will take approximately 3-4 months to prepare an Accession Roadmap for Thailand. At this stage, Thailand will learn which standards need to be improved to align with OECD standards. Thailand will work with approximately 25 OECD Committees for in-depth technical assessments for standard alignment. During this phase, Thai agencies can negotiate certain reservations, and after passing the assessment, Thailand will proceed to accept legal obligations for full membership. The duration of the membership process depends significantly on the performance of Thai agencies and the respective OECD Committees.
Furthermore, Mr. Alexander Bohmer advised Thailand to engage with countries that recently became members and countries currently in the OECD membership process to exchange views and share relevant experiences. GRC, as the OECD’s lead agency for coordinating and overseeing the overall membership application process, is pleased to provide consultation and work closely with NESDC and relevant Thai agencies, particularly in participating in building knowledge and understanding about membership among various sectors in Thailand.
For next steps, NESDC is preparing to submit Thailand’s OECD membership proposal for Cabinet consideration within 2023 to seek approval for Thailand’s submission of a letter of intent for OECD membership. This will lead to concrete implementation for Thailand’s preparation. NESDC plans to organize the first workshop to raise awareness about OECD membership for relevant government agencies on December 7, 2023, and a second workshop for the private sector, civil society, and other stakeholders in January-February 2024 to create strong and comprehensive participation from all sectors in driving Thailand’s OECD membership.
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