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Prime Minister of Ukraine,
Dear Denys, a very warm welcome to the OECD,
Ministers,
Excellencies,
Distinguished guests, delegates, Friends all.
A very warm welcome to this the 2025 Ministerial Council Meeting of the OECD.
Leading the way towards resilient, inclusive and sustainable prosperity through rules-based trade, investment and innovation.
The theme of this year’s MCM goes to the core of our mission as your Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
As we gather here today, the world stands at an inflection point.
The global economy is more interconnected – and more interdependent – than ever.
The need to work together and find solutions together to the challenges of our time is more important than ever.
After a period of remarkable global economic resilience in recent years the global economic outlook has become more challenging –
Despite a series of external shocks, from COVID to the economic and social impacts of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the energy crisis and the period of high inflation that followed, rising geopolitical tensions and more, in all of the circumstances, the global economy continued to grow at a comparatively healthy rate of above three percent.
However, as we are meeting here today – the outlook for the global economy – and the outlook for growth across most economies around the world – has become more subdued.
Earlier today we released our Economic Outlook projecting global growth to fall below three percent.
For inflation to decline more slowly.
And the context is the significantly increased economic and trade policy uncertainty.
Tighter financial conditions;
The lower business and consumer confidence, and the impact it has on investment and activity that we are observing which has led to this downgrade in our economic growth outlook.
And all of that against the background of continued structural challenges and transformations:
- Low productivity growth and rising trade restrictions are leading to a lower economic growth trajectory if left unaddressed.
- We need to better prepare for the economic, social and fiscal impacts of population ageing;
- Including by accelerating and strengthening our efforts to boost economic performance through the more ambitious pursuit of genuine gender equality.
- We need to keep focusing on tackling the challenges and opportunities associated with climate change in a globally more coherent and effective way together;
- We need to give ourselves the best chance to seize all the many exciting benefits for humanity of the digital transformation and AI, while better managing some of the associated risks and disruptions.
- And we need to find better ways to make our global rules-based trading system fairer and work better – to tackle unfair trade practices, boost economic security and improve supply chain resilience in a way that helps us preserve the well-established economic benefits of open markets and rules based global trade.
Colleagues, we need to talk. We need to find ways to solve issues through dialogue and co-operation.
And I know you agree.
Because you have come to this Ministerial Council Meeting in record numbers, at least during my time in this job.
This MCM has assembled the largest number of senior Ministers from across our Membership and beyond yet during my time in this job.
There is clearly a strong appetite to have the necessary conversations on a better way forward.
This MCM is a very important opportunity for OECD Members and our Partner countries to engage about the best ways forward.
Including and especially about how to restore economic and trade policy certainty through dialogue and co-operation.
We know that it would deliver immediate economic and social dividends – in terms of stronger growth, better opportunities for people around the world and our capacity to concentrate on successfully tackling all the other challenges in front of us.
Leading the way back towards resilient, inclusive and sustainable prosperity through rules-based trade, investment and innovation.
Here at the OECD we will continue to support you. We provide the objective data and analysis across the economic, social and environmental policy spectrum to help inform your discussions and to help inform your decisions.
Importantly we provide a trusted platform for the multilateral dialogue the world needs you to have.
And over the next two days, I strongly encourage you to have as many bilateral and multilateral conversations in informal and formal settings to try to find the best ways forward.
At this year’s Ministerial Council Meeting you will have the opportunity to further strengthen the rules-based system together.
You will have the opportunity to welcome a new Recommendation on Eliminating Government Support to Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing, which will foster a more level playing field for sustainable fishing practices and ensure a future for our shared fisheries resources in the years to come.
You will consider adopting a revised Recommendation on Merger Reviews to help ensure our competition law and policy frameworks are as effective as we need them to be in protecting competition, and ultimately encouraging business dynamism and innovation in our economies.
And you will discuss adopting a new Recommendation on Digital Technologies and the Environment, to harness their potential for greater sustainability and efficiency, while better managing their impacts, including energy use and electronics waste.
You will consider the OECD’s latest evidence-based insights on supply chain resilience, trade, gender data and gender equality, foreign direct investment and climate.
You will provide guidance on the way forward for an AI Policy Toolkit to support policymakers in implementing our landmark AI Principles,
And you will shape the OECD’s efforts to further advance our global engagement,
Which is truly fundamental to our Organisation’s continued relevance, effectiveness and impact, and indeed a testament to the continuing interest of countries around the world to engage and adhere to our standards and best practices.
This includes taking stock of our Accession processes with a record eight candidate countries – including Indonesia which is submitting its Initial Memorandum at this MCM later today, a major milestone in their Accession journey.
To deepen our engagement with Latin America and the Caribbean – a region of extraordinary human and natural potential, and home to 4 of our Members, 3 Accession candidates and many more important partners – you will discuss a new Strategic Framework, and a new Paraguay Country Programme.
And you will also take stock of the very significant progress made under the Ukraine Country Programme, in areas ranging from energy sector reform to a substantially strengthened anticorruption and integrity framework.
Prime Minister, Dear Denys, thank you for joining us today to demonstrate your continuing strong commitment to deepening engagement with the OECD. And thank you in particular for your strong leadership in pursuing the increased alignment of Ukraine’s legislation, policies and practices with OECD standards and best practices. We continue to stand with the people of Ukraine in your pursuit of a bright, peaceful, prosperous and European future.
Colleagues,
At last year’s Ministerial Council Meeting, OECD Ministers also gave us the mandate to start developing a new OECD Strategy on Development.
During this Ministerial Council Meeting you will have the opportunity to consider my update on our collective progress towards finalising that strategy,
Including the broad and inclusive consultations we have conducted with our partner countries and stakeholders, with OECD Key Partners, accession candidate countries, business and labour representatives, philanthropy as well as international and civil society organisations.
These consultations have provided a valuable opportunity to exchange, to learn from and build trust with a broad range of partner countries and stakeholders, to help shape the future direction of the OECD’s work on development.
Looking ahead, we must continue to advance a whole-of-OECD approach to ensure our Organisation remains relevant and impactful, in fact improves our relevance and impact when it comes to responding to the needs of a diversity of country contexts and complex development challenges.
We will continue to engage on the development strategy by ensuring outcomes of the upcoming Financing for Development Conference in Seville and other international events in 2025 are appropriately reflected in our work.
In closing,
The next two days are an opportunity for open, and yes very frank, but most of all constructive, pragmatic and solutions-oriented dialogue.
I am so much looking forward to these discussions over the next two days, to your insights and contributions,
As you shape the direction of this Organisation – your Organisation – for the year ahead,
Advancing new, impactful tools for effective policy co-operation,
And working together to build a better future.
Excellencies, colleagues, friends, we will now hear an introductory message from the President of Costa Rica Rodrigo Chaves Robles.
A very warm welcome, this MCM is now officially open.
Thank you.
Working with over 100 countries, the OECD is a global policy forum that promotes policies to preserve individual liberty and improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world.