Any country wishing to join the NEST Framework must become a signatory of the NEST Framework Agreement, as stated in article 11(a) of the agreement:

A government, whether from an NEA member country or not, may designate an organisation whose headquarters are based in its country (hereinafter referred to as the “Applicant”) to become a Party to this Framework Agreement by submitting a written application to the Secretariat and the Management Board. The Management Board may either reject or unanimously accept the application, subject to any additional condition that it might determine.

In simple terms, the process is as follows:

1. The applicant country’s government sends a letter (see template document) to the NEST Management Board via the NEST Secretariat, stating their interest to join the NEST Framework. This can be sent from the Permanent Delegation to the OECD or any Ministry and designates an organisation who will sign the NEST Framework Agreement.
2. The NEST Management Board considers the request and decides whether to approve the adhesion of the new country.
3. Once unanimously approved by the NEST Management Board, the designated Organisation is invited to sign the NEST Framework Agreement.
4. The amended Framework Agreement is circulated to all Parties again, formalising the new country’s membership.

For any further enquiries about the NEST Framework and the adhesion process, please contact the NEST Secretariat at nest@oecd-nea.org.