ASTANA, August 27 (Itar-Tass) — Kazakhstan seeks to join the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Vice-Prime Minister Yerbol Orynbayev said on Saturday.
“Due to the ongoing development of the republic I believe that it is time to prepare for joining this organisation,” Orynbayev said.
In his words, “the republic develops dynamically.” “GDP grows. We’ve overcome the effects of the crisis. Kazakhstan is among the countries with the income level of 9,000 U.S. dollars. The president set the task to amount to 15,000 U.S. dollars by 2015. Thus, Kazakhstan is ready to join this elite club,” the vice-prime minister said.
The accession to the OECD will allow the republic “to succeed in the best standards of developed countries and step up integration with the most developed countries of the world, and thus improve and increase its competitiveness”, he said.
Orynbayev named priority tasks for Kazakhstan – education, investments and innovation, small and medium size business, and agriculture. “We recommend to join the four committees on a permanent basis and become permanent observers,” he said. “Then it will be possible to raise the question of our full-fledged membership,” Orybayev added.
During the official visit to France in June, Kazakhstani Prime Minister Karim Masimov said the republic intended to become a member of the organisation.
The OECD, which was founded in 1961, unites 34 countries.