Keynote address given my Prime Minister of Finland, Petteri Orpo, during the Opening of the 2026 OECD Ministerial Council Meeting in Paris, France.
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Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Finland is honoured to chair this Ministerial Council Meeting—for the first time in over 40 years. I would like to thank our co-chairs and the Secretary-General for their close co-operation.
Evidence-based policymaking is essential for navigating today’s challenges. The OECD’s role in promoting rules-based international co-operation is more important than ever.
The theme of our meeting is “Getting Industrial Policies Right”. I would like to focus my remarks on growth, competitiveness, and security.
Let me begin with growth.
Across many OECD economies, productivity gains have slowed, populations are ageing, and public finances are under pressure. Digitalization, decarbonisation, and defense needs are driving structural changes in our societies. As we seek to seize these opportunities, industrial policy has re-emerged as a key tool for countries around the world.
When done right, industrial policy can support economic transformation. Poorly designed, however, it risks distorting markets or weakening fiscal sustainability. The challenge is to pursue targeted, non-distortive, and non-discriminatory policies that strengthen long-term growth without undermining public finances or the free market.
Governments must not replace markets but rather enable them to function better. This includes designing regulation that supports competition and innovation, reduces unnecessary administrative burden, and ensures a level playing field for companies.
Finland’s success has relied on strong integration into global value chains, a stable and transparent regulatory environment, and close co-operation between the public and private sectors.
Having said that, the times are changing. Not all our trading partners are playing fair, for example, in terms of access to key production inputs. However, if we adopt smart industrial policies and pursue international co-operation with like-minded partners, I am confident that we can find the necessary solutions and ensure that global competition remains fair and rules-based. We are here to find these solutions.
My second message concerns competitiveness. It is about the ability to innovate, to attract talent and investment, and to adapt to societal change by embracing the industries of tomorrow. These are increasingly linked to emerging technologies. Artificial intelligence, in particular, holds the potential for gains in productivity, innovation, and industrial renewal.
Competitiveness means establishing innovation ecosystems that enable different stakeholders to collaborate across the value chain. It means building research infrastructures where different technologies and disciplines can converge and interact. It means providing research and development funding for deep tech to be turned into real-life solutions. And finally, it means making sure that research institutions and companies have access to the talent and capital they need to innovate and scale.
In Finland, we have developed world-class knowledge and manufacturing hubs in AI and quantum computing, wireless networks, new space, nuclear energy, and bioeconomy. We have a national spending target of four per cent of GDP for research and development, ensuring our innovators a sustained funding pipeline. In addition, we are investing in our most innovative companies so that they can scale and compete in the global market.
All this is carried out in close collaboration between the public and private sectors in a joint national effort. Yet, given the global nature of technology value chains, we also need trusted international co-operation.
This brings me to my third and final message, which concerns security.
Today, economic security and national security are increasingly interconnected. Supply chain vulnerabilities, dependencies, and geopolitical tensions affect our collective resilience. As advanced economies with shared values and interests, we need to find common solutions to shared problems wherever possible.
Addressing concerns about economic security requires co-ordinated and proportionate action. We must build industrial capacity in key sectors, while recognising that we cannot and should not produce everything ourselves. Second, we must diversify our supply chains while maintaining openness to global trade flows. Third, we must pursue deeper economic, critical resources, and technological partnerships among trusted allies. And finally, we must ensure that any measures we take do not undermine the very rules we are working to preserve.
Much like growth and competitiveness, our security is not achieved in isolation—it is strengthened through co-operation. Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine is a stark reminder of this reality. Our continued support for Ukraine is not only a matter of solidarity; it is in defense of the rules-based international order on which our economies depend.
Ukraine’s resilience highlights the role of technology and innovation in building the defense capabilities and industrial capacity we need. At the same time, the reconstruction of Ukraine will require sustained international commitment. This also applies in the OECD context, and we can help Ukraine reform its economy and pave the way for its membership. Learning from each other goes both ways.
Excellencies,
In closing, balanced and responsible industrial policies can be an important instrument in our toolbox.
As a forum for mutual learning, policy dialogue, and collaboration, the OECD is uniquely positioned to lead this effort. Let our discussions help us get our industrial policies right in a way that strengthens growth, enhances competitiveness, and reinforces our shared security.
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.