TNAG-2056-FCO40-2934-Hong-Kong-and-the-Organisation-for-Economic-Cooperation-and--1990 — Page 35

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C/NM(90) 22(1st Revision)

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14.

BASIC CONDITIONS OF THE INFORMAL DIALOGUE WITH THE DYNAMIC ASIAN ECONOMIES

While co-operation with Central and Eastern Europe is basically

[ "demand-pulled", it is increasingly clear that the informal dialogue with the

DAES initiated by the OECD is, in the case of some less developed partners I which still question the objectives of the dialogue, somewhat

{ "supply-pushed". Before addressing the issue of the general guidelines and I topics which will chart the future development of the informal dialogue with the DAES, it might therefore be useful to briefly shift the focus to a more I fundamental question: what are the basic conditions that need to be met in I order to ensure the useful outcome of this dialogue?

A. Interest on the Part of OECD Countries

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For OECD Member countries, the informal dialogue between the OECD and the DAES should make it possible:

to acquire a fuller knowledge and understanding of the six economies which now account for nearly a third of OECD exports to the rest of the world (compared to 10 per cent absorbed by Eastern Europe and the USSR) and which, along with Japan, belong to a particularly dynamic area of the global market economy:

to strengthen the multilateral trading and investment system governed by rules through a broader "coalition for multilateralism";

given the relatively similar role played by markets in the OECD countries and the DAES, to take the policy dialogue with these economies further than they would be able to do in more heterogeneous international organisations;

given the rapidly growing technological potential and increasing competitiveness of these economies, to promote a certain convergence of the "rules of the game" faced by the private sectors of OECD countries and the DAEs in areas such as trade and investment.

1 B. Interest on the Part of the DAES

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While the DAEs have common characteristics, their circumstances and

| aspirations differ on several grounds. As a result, it would appear that the

| informal dialogue with the OECD is of interest to them to different degrees I and for various reasons:

all seem to wish to acquire a better knowledge and understanding of economic trends and policies in the OECD countries and of their consequences for DAES. (In this regard, one specific subject of great interest in the dialogue with the OECD is the integration of Central and Eastern European countries in the global market economy and the impact of this integration on the DAES.):

all seem to see merit in contacts with an independent secretariat of acknowledged professional competence and with senior officials from OECD countries responsible for various policy areas:

CONFIDENTIAL