Singapore Invited to OECD Forum by Costa Rica

June meeting in Paris aims to boost trade cooperation between group and S-E Asia

- Arvind Jayaram

Visiting Costa Rican Foreign Trade Minister Manuel Tovar Rivera has invited Singapore to take part in the upcoming OECD Ministerial Council Meeting (MCM) in Paris in June.

Mr Tovar, who was in Singapore from April 2 to 5, told The Straits Times that he extended the invitation during talks with Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong.

"I have invited Singapore to attend as a special guest, as a special friend," said Mr Tovar, who is co-chairing the forum on Costa Rica's behalf alongside representatives from Australia, Canada and Lithuania.

"We're going to, you know, renew the framework of cooperation between the OECD and South-east Asia, where Singapore certainly is nestled, and that's one of the issues that we discussed."

The MCM is the highest-level forum for the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and brings together heads of government, economy, trade, and foreign ministers from OECD member countries, as well as representatives from partner countries.

Mr Tovar said the idea is to bring the OECD closer to the South-east Asia region at a time of trade uncertainty, with some of the grouping's members at loggerheads over trade.

Other than Singapore, Asean member Vietnam has also been invited by Mr Tovar to attend the gathering on June 3 and 4.

Notably, two other Asean members—Indonesia and Thailand—are seeking OECD membership.

Mr Tovar—who is also president of the Costa Rican Foreign Trade Promoter, a government agency for investment and export promotion—said he has a good, solid relationship with Mr Gan that has been built up over years.

He told ST that the two leaders exchanged views on upholding the rules-based system, the international multilateral trade system and the World Trade Organisation, which benefited small nations the most.