OECD Forums, Ministerial and High Level Meetings

2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003

OECD Council Meetings at Ministerial Level since 1976

Meetings in 2008

• High Level Tourism Committee Meeting
  Riva del Garda, Italy, 9-10 October 2008
  Policy makers, industry leaders and tourism experts discussed "The Tourism Economy and Globalisation: An Engine for Innovation, Growth and Employment" at this meeting. Drawing attention to the major advances made in the implementation of effective tourism policies aimed at enhancing the competitiveness of the tourism economy, it aimed to analyse the trends, challenges and policies that will shape tourism in the years to come as well as review the role of the OECD in this area.
  
  
• OECD Ministerial Meeting on the Future of the Internet Economy
  Seoul, 17-18 June 2008
  The meeting provided an ideal opportunity for government, business, the technical community and civil society to consider broad social, economic, and technical trends shaping the development of the Internet economy and to discuss policies that can respond to evolving societal needs. With a strong focus on innovation and growth, the meeting discussed the role of the Internet in the 21st Century through the three following topics: fuelling creativity, building confidence and benefits from convergence.
  
  
• OECD Council at Ministerial Level - Outreach, Reform and the Economics of Climate Change
  Paris, 4-5 June 2008
  This year's OECD Ministerial Council Meeting (MCM) took place at the OECD Conference Centre in Paris under the chairmanship of Mme Christine Lagarde, French Minister of Economy, Industry and Employment, with Mexico and Switzerland as Vice-Chairs.
  OECD Ministers held the Ministerial Council Meeting with their counterparts from Chile, Estonia, Israel, Russia and Slovenia, the five candidate countries for Accession to the Organisation, and from Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and South Africa, the five candidates for Enhanced Engagement.
  The economic impact of climate change, rising food prices and a broad range of other trade, growth and development issues were discussed.
  
  
• OECD Forum: Climate Change, Growth, Stability
  Paris, 3-4 June 2008
  The OECD Forum is a "multi-stakeholder summit" which brings together business and labour leaders, civil society personalities, government ministers and leaders of international organisations to discuss the hottest issues on the international agenda. It takes place in conjunction with the annual OECD ministerial summit. It addressed this year 'The price of reform and the cost of inaction' through the three main topics which are climate change, growth and stability.
  
  
• OECD Ministerial Meeting on Environment and Global Competitiveness
  Paris, 28-29 April 2008
  The meeting addressed recent environmental trends and projections, environmental co-operation between OECD countries and emerging economies, challenges (competitiveness concerns) and opportunities (eco-innovation) associated with policies to address climate change, and the need for enhanced government-wide co-operation to shift towards a low-carbon society.

Meetings in 2007

• OECD Council at Ministerial Level - Innovation: Advancing the OECD Agenda for Growth and Equity
  Paris, 15-16 May 2007
  This year's OECD Ministerial Council Meeting (MCM) took place under the chairmanship of Pedro Solbes, Spain's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance. The main issues discussed at the meeting included: Globalisation, growth and equity; Innovation and growth; Enlargement of the OECD and Enhanced Engagement with selected non-OECD countries; and Future challenges for an open global trading system.
  
  
• OECD Forum: Innovation, Growth and Equity
  Paris, 14-15 May 2007
  The theme of the 2007 Forum, 'Innovation, Growth and Equity', is a vital equation for a high-performing, more balanced globalisation. How to stimulate innovation for equitable growth and prosperity in our countries? This is the central question we must try to to answer in the debates here, according to Angel Gurría's opening speech.

Meetings in 2006

• Meeting of OECD Education Ministers - Higher Education: Quality, Equity and Efficiency
  Athens, 27-28 June 2006
  At this meeting, ministers of Higher Education from OECD countries and invited observers discussed how to ensure that quality, equity and efficiency characterise all aspects of higher education.
  
  
• High-Level Policy Conference: Boosting Jobs and Incomes
  Toronto, 15-16 June 2006
  At the conference "Boosting Jobs and Incomes", ministers, business leaders, academics and union representatives from civil society discussed the lessons that emerged from the assessment of the OECD Jobs Strategy, defining policies that work, and those that don't.
  
  
• OECD Council at Ministerial Level: Delivering Prosperity
  Paris, 23-24 May 2006
  Under the chairmanship of Kostas Karamanlis, Prime Minister of Greece, ministers from OECD and other countries discussed a range of economic policy issues including how to ensure economic stability and improve economic performance, how to implement economic reforms for growth and employment, the strategic direction of the OECD and the follow-up to the WTO ministerial meeting in Hong Kong.
  
  
• OECD Forum: Balancing Globalisation
  Paris, 22-23 May 2006
  The Forum is a multi-stakeholder summit which brings together leaders from business, government, labour, civil society and international organisations. The 2006 Forum themes included solving global economic imbalances, optimising the contribution of financial markets to economic growth, reaping the full benefits of technology and innovation, managing the successful integration of China and India into the world economy, creating jobs in the 21st century, and ensuring that trade and investment are effective and ethical motors for development.
  
  
• Meeting of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) and the Environment Policy Committee (EPOC) at Ministerial Level 
  Paris, 4 April 2006
  Economic development all too often brings with it environmental degradation, damaging the interests of the very people it is supposed to help. To examine how best to coordinate development aid with policies to safeguard the environment, ministers of development and environment from the main aid-giving countries of the OECD will meet in Paris.

Meetings in 2005

• Meeting of the Public Governance Committee at Ministerial Level - Strengthening Trust in Government: What Role for Government in the 21st Century?
  Rotterdam, 28 November 2005
  The objective of this meeting was to review ways to bolster public confidence in government, in particular by improving communications with citizens and continuing to modernise the public sector and improve the quality of public policies and services.  The conference was organised with the Netherlands Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations and attended by ministers and senior officials from more than 30 OECD and non-OECD countries.  Read the Statement by the Chair.
  
  
• High-level Policy Forum on Ageing and Employment Policies
  Brussels, 17-18 October 2005
  People are living longer and yet spending much longer in retirement, but what is a boon for individuals threatens to be a bane for economies and social welfare systems. Unless OECD countries adapt their employment policies to the new demographic realities, they will face shrinking workforces and declining prosperity. To help set an agenda for change, government officials, social partners, academics and representatives of civil society organisations discussed the issues raised by OECD analysis. Their objective was to define a new set of age-friendly employment policies that will benefit the economy, society and older individuals themselves.
  
  
• OECD Council at Ministerial Level: Enabling Globalisation
  Paris, 3-4 May 2005
  Under the chairmanship of Göran Persson, Prime Minister of Sweden, ministers from OECD and other countries discussed a range of economic policy issues including energy and investment, globalisation and structural adjustment.
  
  
• OECD Forum: Fuelling the Future: Security, Stability, Development
  Paris, 2-3 May 2005
  The Forum is a multi-stakeholder summit which brings together leaders from business, government, labour and civil society, and takes place at the same time as the annual meeting of the OECD's council at ministerial level. This 2005 Forum focused on the world economy, trade and investment, energy, and development.
  
  
• Meeting of OECD Social Affairs Ministers: Extending opportunities: How active social policy can benefit us all
  Paris, March 31-April 1 2005
  Social ministers from OECD countries discussed how social policies can help individuals and families achieve their potential and support economic growth. Much social progress has been made in all countries. But problems remain. Too many people are still exposed to risks of poverty in childhood, of exclusion from work in prime age, of isolation and limited self-sufficiency in old age. Active social policies that promote the economic independence of the individual provide solutions to these problems. Action is needed urgently before population ageing complicates reforms further. Ministers discussed which measures are needed to address these social challenges. They also discussed rights and responsibilities in social policy with non-governmental organisations.
  
  
• Development Assistance Committee (DAC) High Level Meeting   
  Paris, 2-3 March 2005 
  The annual DAC meeting of aid ministers and agency heads looked for ways donor and recipient countries can improve the lives of poor people, including those suffering under unstable or corrupt governments, by using aid more effectively. Better co-ordination amongst donors and between donors and recipients will be a big step in the right direction, but indicators and monitoring are also crucial. The meeting also discussed the Mutual review of Development Effectiveness commissioned by the NEPAD heads of state.

Meetings in 2004

• OECD World Forum on Key Indicators: Statistics, Knowledge and Policy 
  Italy, 10-13 November 2004   
  Statistics are fundamental for decision making. How can institutions improve the relevance, comparability and reliability of indicators? Around 500 experts met to debate these issues.
  
  
• OECD Ministerial on Small and Medium Entreprises: Promoting Entrepreneurship and Innovative SMEs in a Global Economy
  Istanbul, 4-5 June 2004
  Four years after the first ministerial conference on small and medium enterprises, SMEs continue to be essential drivers of economic progress and growth. In addition, there is a need to further assess the impact of globalisation on SMEs and the implications for emerging and developing economies. All of these factors call for ministers to provide the necessary political impetus for facilitating entrepreneurship and SME development.
  
  
• OECD Council at Ministerial Level
  Paris, 13-14 May 2004
  Ministers from OECD and other countries will discuss economic policy issues, including the impact of ageing populations and prospects for international trade negotiations.
  
  
• Meeting of OECD Health Ministers: Towards High-Performing Health Systems
  Paris, 13-14 May 2004
  Health Ministers from OECD countries will meet to debate ways in which they can improve the quality and efficiency of their health systems, including prevention.  In a joint session with Finance/Economics Ministers, they will also discuss ways to ensure the financial sustainability of health systems.  Rapid growth in health spending, together with a growing awakening to problems of quality in health care and opportunities to prevent illness and disability, raises the urgency of addressing these issues.
  
  
• OECD Forum: Health of Nations
  Paris, 12-13 May 2004
  The Forum is a multi-stakeholder summit which brings together leaders from business, government, labour and civil society, and takes place at the same time as the annual meeting of the OECD's council at ministerial level. This year's Forum will focus on health policy challenges, from ageing and obesity to technology and financial sustainability.
  
  
• Meeting of OECD Environment Ministers
  Paris, 19-20-21 April 2004
  OECD environment ministers will meet to assess their progress in implementing the ambitious OECD Environmental Strategy for the First Decade of the 21st Century, adopted in 2001. They will identify areas where they are "on track", and share experiences on how to overcome obstacles to better environmental policies.
  
  
• Development Assistance Committee High Level Meeting
  Paris, 15-16 April 2004
  The OECD's Development Assistance Committee, which groups the world's principal aid donors, will review recent aid figures and the level of progress towards the targets set under the UN's Millennium Development Goals. The ministers will specifically look at how to achieve more co-ordinated approaches by OECD governments to support better-functioning armed forces, policing, and judicial and penal institutions in developing countries and regions to help ensure good governance and the rule of law. 
  
  
• Meeting of OECD Education Ministers: Raising the Quality of Learning for All
  Dublin,18-19 March 2004
  Education ministers from OECD countries met to debate ways in which they can improve the quality and equity of their education systems. Many of them face huge challenges: widespread teacher shortages, changing social conditions and increasingly diverse student populations.
  
  
• Meeting of OECD Science and Technology Ministers: Science, Technology and Innovation for the 21st Century
  Paris, 29-30 January 2004
  Themes of the two-day meeting focussed on policies to improve links between public and private research, on measures to ensure appropriate training, development and mobility of scientists and other highly qualified personnel, and on the role of science and technology in responding to global challenges including security and safety.
  

Meetings in 2003

• Meeting of OECD Employment and Labour Ministers: Towards more and better jobs
  Paris, 29-30 September 2003
  Why should countries be concerned about under-represented groups such as the unskilled, lone parents, women, immigrants and older workers? A harsh question, perhaps, but it is one of the key issues examined during the meeting.