Voices from the OECD Ministerial Meeting on Regional Development Policy

On 19-20 May 2025, Ministers and high-level representatives from OECD countries and beyond convened in Warsaw, Poland, for the Ministerial Meeting on Regional Development Policy. Chaired by Poland, with Japan and Norway as Vice-Chairs, the meeting explored strategies to enhance resilience, cohesion, and well-being while leveraging regional opportunities.

Jan Szyszko, Deputy Minister at the Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy, speaks about how decentralisation in Poland has led to significant improvements in regional development by empowering local governments to make investment decisions that best suit their communities.

Francisca Perales, Undersecretary of Regional and Administrative Development at Chile’s Ministry of the Interior, speaks about Chile’s ongoing decentralisation agenda as a means to reduce territorial inequalities and strengthen trust in public institutions, highlighting the importance of collaboration with the OECD to advance reforms in one of the most centralised countries in the world.

Jim McMahon, Minister for Local Government and English Devolution at the UK’s Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, speaks about the UK’s bold push to devolve power from Westminster to local councils, highlighting the importance of co-produced national plans, aligned funding, and empowering local leaders to ensure communities tangibly feel the impact of growth strategies.

Kjersti Stenseng, Minister of Local Government and Regional Development of Norway, speaks about how enabling local communities to offer strong public and private services, supported by a well-developed welfare state and regionally differentiated tax schemes, fosters resilience and thriving local economies.

Petr Kulhánek, Minister of Regional Development of the Czech Republic, speaks about how regional development drives national resilience by investing in infrastructure, education, and people, reducing disparities, fostering cohesion, and strengthening the entire economy through tailored, place-based approaches.

Marta Esquivel, Minister of National Planning and Economic Policy of Costa Rica, speaks about how Costa Rica is promoting more equitable regional development by prioritising public investment through multi-stakeholder networks, clear social development indicators, and targeted interventions in historically underserved areas like coastal regions.

Hendrik Johannes Terras, Minister of Regional Affairs and Agriculture of Estonia, speaks about the importance of revitalising rural areas not only for economic diversification and food production, but also for national resilience and defence, highlighting the critical role of regions as the backbone of the country.

Hirofumi Amakawa, Vice-Minister for Land, Infrastructure and Hokkaido Development Affairs at Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, speaks about Japan’s PLATEAU project, which uses 3D urban models to drive digital transformation in urban planning, enabling advanced simulations and policy-making while promoting international collaboration through OECD research initiatives.

Sangwoo Park, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of Korea, speaks about how Korea is tackling regional disparities and population decline by shifting toward a megacity regions strategy, aiming to create innovative districts that foster jobs, business, and livable environments to support balanced national development.