Morocco now sets its sights on a place in the OECD

The information appears in an investigation published on Friday by Africa Intelligence. The specialised media outlet says that Rabat is considering submitting an application for membership in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in the future.

However, no official application has been announced at this stage. Nor does Morocco appear among the eight countries with which the OECD is currently holding formal accession discussions: Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Croatia, Peru, Romania, Indonesia and Thailand.

The revelation takes on particular significance in light of Aziz Akhannouch’s trip to Paris on Monday. The head of government addressed the OECD Council and held talks with its secretary-general, Mathias Cormann.

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According to the official information released after the meeting, Akhannouch stressed the relationship built between Morocco and the organisation since 2005. He recalled that the Kingdom had been one of the first non-member states to benefit from a Country Programme and that it currently participates in 13 bodies as well as in more than thirty OECD instruments.

Morocco is already integrated into the organisation’s work. The OECD states that the Country Programme facilitated its accession to 35 legal instruments. The Kingdom is also associated with several committees and participates in many other areas of the organisation’s work.

Membership that would require several years

Moving from this status as a partner to that of a member would nevertheless constitute a much more significant step. The OECD currently has 38 member states, mainly in Europe, the Americas and the Asia-Pacific region.

A possible Moroccan application would not automatically trigger the opening of negotiations. Under the organisation’s procedure, the Council must first decide to launch an accession process, then adopt a roadmap detailing the reviews to which the country would have to submit.

These assessments cover numerous areas, from governance to taxation, as well as competition, investment, the environment and social policies. They may lead to a request for the candidate to amend its legislation or certain practices. The entire process generally extends over several years, and final admission must be approved unanimously.

On Bladi.net : OECD Fiscal Agreements Morocco MRE Protection Clarified

The rapprochement between Rabat and the OECD has accelerated further in recent years. Morocco has notably adopted several international tax-related instruments, an issue that had raised concerns among MREs. In July, the government therefore had to clarify that the new tax agreements related to the OECD did not target Moroccans residing abroad.