Rwanda has formally been admitted to the Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Centre having applied to join the body in November 2018.

OECD Development Centre, which was established in 1961, is an independent platform for knowledge sharing and policy dialogue between Organisation for OECD member countries and developing economies to allow nations to interact on an equal footing.

Rwanda becomes the 55th member of the organisation.

The Minister for Trade and Industry, Soraya Hakuziyaremye, is representing Rwanda at the ongoing OECD meeting in Paris, France.

In a recent interview with The New Times, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Dr Richard Sezibera, said that Rwanda seeks to learn from OECD Centre especially with regards to business standards and trade ethics to help improve its business environment.

The grouping draws attention to emerging systemic issues likely to affect global development, particularly in emerging economies.

By using evidence-based analysis and strategic partnerships, the OECD Centre helps countries to formulate innovative policy solutions to development challenges.

Rwanda’s admission comes at a time when the country is scaling up efforts to become a regional business hub.

The latest World Bank Doing Business Report ranked Rwanda 29th best place to do business globally.

According to OECD, the Centre helps "developing countries and emerging economies find innovative policy solutions to promote sustainable growth, reduce poverty and inequalities, and improve people’s lives."

"We facilitate policy dialogue between governments, involving public, private and philanthropic actors. Countries from Africa, Asia, and Latin America participate as full members in the Centre, where they interact on an equal footing with OECD members," the body says on its website.

The 27 OECD member countries include Belgium, Chile, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom.

Non-OECD countries that are full members of the Development Centre include Brazil, India, Romania, Thailand, South Africa, Egypt, Viet Nam, Colombia, Indonesia, Costa Rica, Mauritius, Morocco, and Peru. Others are the Dominican Republic, Senegal, Argentina, Cabo Verde, Panama, Côte d'Ivoire, Kazakhstan, Tunisia, China, Ghana, Uruguay, Paraguay, El Salvador, and Guatemala. The European Union also takes part in the work of the Governing Board.

editor@newtimesrwanda.com