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The first meeting of the GfD Initiative’s Steering Group took place in Madrid on 27-28 April 2005 and was hosted by the Spanish Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Mr. Miguel Angel Moratinos. This meeting represents the first important step towards implementation of the Initiative, as Arab countries and their OECD counterparts committed to a key milestone: the formulation of National Action Plans by spring 2006.
The meeting began with the election of Mr. Bashir, Minister for Government Performance, Jordan (now replaced by Mr. Abed Al Shakhanbeh, Minister of Justice, Jordan) and Mr. Darwish, Minister of State for Administrative Development, Egypt as Chairs to the Steering Group. The presence of all OECD Working Group Co-chairs, coming from Canada, France, Italy, Korea, the Netherlands, Spain, Turkey, the UK, the US and the European Commission reflected the strong interest and partnership these countries have forged with their Arab counterparts. Mr. Noburu, Japan’s Ambassador to the OECD, was elected OECD Co-chair to the Steering Group.
The Steering Group participants expressed their strong desire for a coherent, cross-cutting, whole-of-government approach and for close communication and cooperation between the different Working Groups. In order to facilitate reform at the country level, it was agreed to set up National Coordination Committees supporting the Working Groups. The meeting closed with Egypt extending invitations to host the next Steering Group Meeting at Ministerial Level in May 2006 in Sharm-el-Sheikh.
Agenda
List of Participants
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