(2) what discussions (a) he and (b) Ministers and officials from his Department have had since July with the government of Israel on its application to join the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development; and if he will make a statement;
(3) what discussions (a) he and (b) Ministers and officials from his Department have had since July with the US Administration on the application of Israel to join the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development; and if he will make a statement.
The OECD member states decided by consensus that they should start accession negotiations with Israel, Chile, Estonia, Russia and Slovenia. The UK supported this decision. Roadmaps for the accession process were prepared by the Secretary-General and approved by the OECD Council of member states. These set out the conditions each individual candidate country is expected to meet before they are invited to become members of the OECD. The FCO leads on the OECD for Her Majesty’s Government.
Treasury Ministers and officials discuss a wide range of issues with their counterparts in the OECD and accession countries on an ongoing basis.