1993-03-25 16:42 DEL
[UK]
45 24 98 37
P.03
It
their DAE counterparts a selected theme eg the forthcoming seminar in Hong Kong which will concentrate on trade issues. was recently decided that a selected number of reforming Latin American countries (Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and Chile) should be invited to participate in this dialogue which will henceforth be dubbed the OECD dialogue with Dynamic Non-Member countries (instead of Dynamic Asian Economies).
3.
The 'dialogue with Dynamic Non-Member Countries and Outreach to Other Major Devleoping Countries' is also one of the agenda items proposed for the Executive Committee in Special Session meeting (attended by Brian Crowe in the FCO) on 6 May
(CES (93)25). The paper for this meeting has not yet circulated, but the annotated agenda states that it will propose approval of a study by the Secretariat of the various interlinkages between OECD Member countries, on the one hand, and Dynamic Non-Member economies (DNMES) and major third circle countries" on the other hand.
We surmise that among the 'third circle countries' will be China and Indonesia which the Socretary-General recently referred to in discussion with Keith MacInnes as suitable candidates for dialogue (see paragraph 14 of UKDel OECD telegram No 16 of 16 March). The Japanese have said that they intend to raise the issue of an OECD/China dialogue at the ECSS meeting.
4, There is also a proposal by the American Ambassador (advanced originally in the context of last year's discussions of a possible merger between the Development Centre and the Development Cooperation Directorate) that the Centre (which has traditionally been OECD's window to the developing world) should be engaged more purposefully in an OECD dialogue with developing countries. The rationale put forward by the Americans is that a growing number of developing countries have joined the former communist states of Central and Eastern Europe "in seeking to establish the [free market and democratic] institutions advocated by OECD countries and to integrate themselves into the world economy". A restructured OECD's dialogue with developing countries should not be universal, but should be focused on those among the developing countries which aspire to the OECD model. The contacts would take place mainly in the framework of seminars and workshops, not negotiations, would be with selected policy makers (not researchers or academics) in the developing countries and 'would both inform the OECD Policy analysis process and project or reflect views of [ORCD] members on issues of mutual interest'. The research capacity of the Development Centre would be harnessed to support such dialogue with less emphasis being given to 'pure research'.
5. There is also a British proposal (stemming from discussions in London last year between John Gray, Brian Thomson and David Stanton: all since departed from their previous posts) which I circulated to other delegations as a non-paper on 12 June intended to circumvent American pressure for merger between DC/DCD by offering an 'olive branch' on dialogue. I enclose a copy of this non-paper (the correspondence if you wish to refer
:
!
!
Page 255Page 256