Tackling coronavirus (COVID‑19)

While the pandemic has been a major accelerator of several trends and transformations, including digitalisation, it has also highlighted pre-existing structural weaknesses: inequalities are rising, and vulnerable people and countries are being hit worst. Meanwhile, the imperative to fight climate change and to preserve biodiversity is still there. It is not waiting for the pandemic to end. It remains our single, most important, intergenerational responsibility.

We are gathered here today to discuss how we can work together to achieve a strong, resilient, green, and inclusive recovery. This requires decisive and concerted action in four directions:

First, fighting and containing the virus should remain our top short-term priority. Choosing between lives and livelihoods is a false dilemma. Until we discover a vaccine and we make it widely accessible and affordable, we must continue to adopt all necessary measures, and adopt and adapt all the necessary technologies to protect public health. To test, track, trace and isolate.

Second, besides central banks, governments must continue strengthening confidence and using their fiscal firepower to keep economies going, support companies and workers, and protect the most vulnerable. And not to withdraw such support too soon.

Third, we need strong multilateral action to match the level of ambition of national responses. International co-operation will be key to develop and distribute vaccines at large; to support poorer countries and regions (more ODA, debt relief, export credits, cost of remittances; ensure net positive flows of resources); to foster resilience in global value chains and find a consensus-based solution to the tax challenges of digitalisation by mid-2021, to match the success we achieved in our automatic exchange of information, on taxes, which has so far identified 84 million bank accounts worth EUR 10 trillion.

Finally, the OECD encourages its Members and Partners to seize the unprecedented opportunity of the recovery to “build back better”. Restoring growth is key, but its quality matters as much. The recovery must be guided by focusing on: People (therefore Inclusive); Planet (therefore Sustainable); and Prosperity (therefore Resilient).

The OECD has stepped up to the challenge.

OECD’s roots lie in the Marshall Plan. Therefore, the notion of reconstruction, of a forward-looking vision, of people-centred ambition, of a deep-seated sense of mission, of multilateralism, are all part of our DNA. As we approach our 60th anniversary, count on the OECD to support your efforts to design, develop and deliver better policies for better lives.