There are 22 countries are now committed to joining the Open Government Partnership, with the latest five additions being Bulgaria, Israel, Croatia, Mongolia and Lithuania, according to a U.S. State Department official.
These countries join nine others whose names were disclosed last week and the eight original participants who are on the OGP steering committee.
Last week officials said nine countries had sent in “letters of intent” — Kenya, Guatemala, Honduras, Albania, Macedonia, Malta, Georgia, Moldova and Slovakia. (See previous FreedomInfo.org posting.) The original eight country members are: the United States and Brazil (co-chairs), South Africa, the United Kingdom, Norway, Mexico, Indonesia and the Philippines.
More letters are expected, the official said, indicating that they will soon be posted online.
OGP Steering Committee to Issue Minutes
In addition, FreedomInfo.org has learned, the OGP steering committee has decided to post minutes of its meetings and agendas.
The last meeting was Aug. 26 and the next meeting in scheduled for Sept. 19, a day before the Sept. 20 kick-off event in New York City at which top leaders from the participating countries will be present.
The OGP initiative is a multi-stakeholder coalition of governments and civil society organizations working to advance transparency and accountability in government on numerous fronts. The steering committee includes representatives from the eight founding countries and nine civil society organizations.
(See previous FreedomInfo.org reports on the OGP by clicking on “open government partnership” under “latest tags.”)
Filed under: What's New