Lehtomäki and Heinäluoma to OECD ministerial meeting in Paris
Press release 154/2006
22 May, 2006
The OECD's annual Ministerial Council Meeting will be organised in Paris on 23-24 May. In sessions concerning the future of the OECD and the Doha Development Round follow-up, the Finnish delegation will be chaired by Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paula Lehtomäki and in sessions concerning economic and structural policies by Minister of Finance Eero Heinäluoma. The delegation will also include expert officials from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Finance.
The main objective of this year's ministerial meeting is to pay attention to the big and lasting differences in the economic development of member states, as well as to the imbalances affecting even the global economy. The meeting aims at finding good practices for implementing economic reforms, examining the situation of the Doha Development Agenda as a follow-up to the WTO ministerial meeting in Hong Kong, and taking a stand on the future of the OECD, as concerns, for instance, the administration and enlargement of the organisation.
The overarching theme of the ministerial meeting is "Delivering Prosperity". In the sessions concerning economic issues the intention is to discuss short-term economic outlook in member countries, both short- and long-term solutions for delivering prosperity, as well as ways of improving the stability and performance of economies by implementing reforms for growth and employment.
In the sessions concerning the future of the OECD the intention is to discuss the strategic directions for the future work in the organisation, such as the impact of rising economies on the world economy and the responsibility to serve the needs of the governments of the member states. As part of this process, and with the new Secretary-General starting his term, the organisation is also scheduled to approve the reform of its administration and to start preparing for an enlargement process.
In the sessions concentrating on trade issues the intention is to assess the current situation, obstacles, opportunities and goals related to the Doha Trade and Development Round of negotiations.
The concrete final outcome expected from the ministerial meeting is the summary of the discussions and results of the meeting drawn up by Greece, the country chairing the meeting. The reports prepared as key background information documents for the ministerial meeting handle investment policy, the relationship between development assistance and promotion of investments, as well as policies concerning intellectual assets. The desired final outcomes also include speeding up of trade negotiations as well as the economic reforms needed in the member countries.
There will also be a parallel public event, "OECD Forum", organised around the themes of the ministerial meeting, consisting of 16 high-level panels. Minister Lehtomäki will participate in one of the panels, concerning the Doha Development Agenda.
Additional information: Counsellor Vesa Hölttä, Unit for OECD, Investment Protection and Specific External Economic Relations, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, tel. +358 9 1605 5741