The Observer Research Foundation (ORF) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) have formalised a long-term partnership through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), underscoring their intent to deepen collaboration and dialogue on key global policy themes.

The agreement, set for an initial duration of five years, aims to leverage the strengths of both institutions to address critical challenges facing the global community while ensuring that India’s policy perspectives and practical experiences find greater resonance within OECD forums.

Given OECD’s role as a global standard-setter in governance, economic reform, and sustainable development, alongside ORF’s growing role as India’s leading think tank with global outreach, this partnership represents a strategic convergence of ideas, capabilities, and knowledge resources.

The scope of cooperation will be expansive, focusing on priority domains that are central to contemporary policy debates. These include economic diplomacy, trade, and investment flows; climate action and environmental sustainability; digital transformation and inclusive technological development; as well as resilience measures for critical sectors such as infrastructure, logistics, and supply chains.

By engaging with these areas, ORF and OECD aim not only to foster more effective policies but also to strengthen multilateral governance frameworks that can accommodate the interests and concerns of both established economies and emerging markets, particularly India.

To achieve these objectives, the partnership will initiate joint activities such as collaborative research projects, co-hosted events, round-tables, and the cross-participation of experts in flagship knowledge platforms.

One of the major highlights of this collaboration will be the facilitation of structured dialogues that integrate India’s developmental trajectory into OECD’s global conversations.

This is significant given that India, as one of the fastest-growing economies with complex developmental needs, adds considerable weight to global discussions on trade, digital governance, and sustainability. ORF will play a crucial role in articulating these priorities, drawing upon its non-partisan, evidence-based research and its longstanding experience of engaging policymakers, businesses, academics, and civil society.

This will naturally complement OECD’s capacity to anchor global debate with trusted analysis, data-driven insights, and policy frameworks.

Institutionally, OECD brings to the table decades of experience in shaping and benchmarking policies across domains such as taxation, education, public governance, and market regulation, supported by its commitment to improving the quality of life for people worldwide.

Its mechanisms for setting global standards and providing platforms for multilateral cooperation have already influenced significant reforms across both developed and developing countries. By partnering with ORF, OECD ensures that India’s voice, priorities, and developmental experiments are not just represented but actively integrated into its work streams. This will allow OECD deliberations to be more inclusive, reflective of the perspectives of emerging economies, and responsive to the needs of a rapidly changing global order.

For Indian policy discourse, this partnership boosts ORF’s role as a globally networked research platform. Over the years, ORF has emerged as a pivotal institution shaping debates at the intersection of geopolitics, economics, and technology.

Its flagship conference, the Raisina Dialogue, organised annually with the Ministry of External Affairs, already attracts an international audience of decision-makers and scholars, offering a unique venue to advance conversations on global order and security.

Through collaboration with OECD, ORF will further internationalise its initiatives and provide Indian policymakers greater access to global best practices. Additionally, its offices in Washington, D.C. and Dubai enhance its cross-regional footprint, which will be instrumental in channelising OECD insights into discourses relevant to the Global South.

The structural alignment between ORF and OECD will also have implications for addressing pressing transnational challenges. Climate change, sustainable infrastructure, and secure supply chains have become critical issues requiring shared frameworks and policies rooted in collective solutions.

Similarly, in domains such as digital governance, data governance, and technology ethics, India has unique policy experiences—regulating at scale in areas like fintech, digital inclusion, and cybersecurity—that OECD and its member states can learn from. The fusion of insights from OECD’s institutional experience and ORF’s grounded perspectives from the Global South could create a rich body of knowledge to shape adaptive policy models for the future.

Ultimately, the ORF–OECD MoU reflects a forward-looking partnership designed to respond to the realities of a fragmented yet interconnected global order. By investing in collaborative research, multilayered dialogue, and knowledge exchange, both sides are reinforcing their shared vision of building better and more inclusive policies.

As global debates intensify on trade rebalancing, sustainable growth, digital transformation, and supply chain resilience, the collaboration signifies not just an institutional strengthening of relations but also a strategic effort to ensure that India’s policy voice and developmental outlook are embedded in shaping the rules of global governance.

This alignment has the potential to influence both policy architectures and practical frameworks that determine how challenges of prosperity, equality, opportunity, and well-being are addressed in the decades to come.

Based On ANI Report