OECD to admit four new members

The Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) would add four new members in the coming weeks, expanding its membership to 34, the organization said on Tuesday.

The newcomers are Chile, Estonia, Israel and Slovenia. Chile would be the first to join the Paris-based OECD, given the progress of its entry process, OECD spokesman Nicholas Bray told Xinhua.

Israel, Estonia and Slovenia were also "right on track" in the accession process, he said.

All OECD members would vote on finalizing these countries' entry process in the next few weeks, but the voting date had not been set yet as assessment of the economic policy and general situation of the candidate states was complicated, he said.

Russia was also invited to join the OECD and discussions on its full membership had already begun, but its entry process was behind the other four, the spokesman said.

Chile, Estonia, Israel and Slovenia and Russia were invited to join the OECD in May 2007 and the entry talks between OECD and the five started in December that year with the approval of so-called accession "roadmaps."

Source:Xinhua
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