ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC COOPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT (OECD)

ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE OF THE OECD  

OECD was officially established on September 30, 1961, with the reformation of the European Economic Cooperation Organisation (founded in 1948) via the OECD Convention dated December 14, 1960. The OECD is an intergovernmental cooperation organisation that aims at developing policies that will contribute to economic and social welfare of the entire humanity. For this purpose, the OECD conducts technical studies within the scope of the public policies, and shares the findings of these studies with the related actors, mainly the governments.    

The OECD celebrated its 60th anniversary in December 14, 2020, with the participation of the high level delegates. The documents that were published regarding the 60th anniversary of the OECD can be seen via the link of http://www.oecd.org/general/Key-information-about-the-OECD.pdf. The record of the celebration event can be seen via the link of https://www.oecd.org/about/upcoming-events/60th/leaders-commemoration-event.htm.

The OECD headquarter is located in Paris, and the organisation has 38 members. There are approximately 3,300 employees of the OECD, and the budget of the organisation is around 390 million Euros. The OECD publishes almost 500 reports per year that address a wide range of topics.

Turkiye is among the founding members of the OECD. The work of the OECD covers governmental policy areas such as macroeconomic policies, trade, agriculture, taxation, finance, competition, education, health, environment, investment, industry, technology, information and communication, transportation, sectoral development, and social security. On the other hand, the OECD also serves as a forum that enables discussion in these policy areas.

The main purpose of the OECD is to inform its members about the best policy alternatives that are developed on the basis of the most contemporary data and analysis regarding the policy areas mentioned above. The OECD aims at developing global solutions for global problems. In this vein, the OECD can also be defined as a think-tank with high level of analytical capacity. Objectivity, openness, courage, pioneering, and being ethical are among the core values of the OECD.

Currently, the OECD is conducting important studies on how the economic and social recovery can be achieved in the post Covid-19 pandemic.

INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONING OF THE OECD  

OECD conducts its work via the General Council that gathers once a year at the ministerial level, and committees and working parties that address various topics. OECD has a Secretariat directed by the Secretary General in order to conduct daily functioning of the OECD. In addition, topic based studies are also conducted by the special bodies such as the International Energy Agency.  The current OECD Secretary General is Mathias Cormann. As 6th OECD Secretary General, his five-year term commenced on 1 June 2021.Because of the variety of topics, the work of the OECD is followed by various institutions in Turkiye. Ministry of Trade is the “National Coordination Unit” of the OECD’s Trade Committee, Steel Committee, and Committee on Consumer Policy.

The coordination among the National Coordination Units is essential in order to ensure better cooperation between our country and the OECD. Therefore, under the coordination role of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs a coordination meeting is hold in Ankara every year with the participation of the all national coordination points. Within the scope of this meeting, the current and future work related to the OECD is discussed.

THE OECD ISTANBUL CENTRE

“The Memorandum of Understanding Regarding the Establishment of the OECD Istanbul Centre” between Turkiye and the OECD was signed in May 31, 2018 in Paris.

Within the scope of its work the OECD Istanbul Centre will focus on the topics such as competition, entrepreneurship, trade, public governance, innovation, mobilization of human capital, interconnectivity and development of infrastructure, increasing economic resilience, green growth, and post Covid-19 economic and social recovery. The OECD Istanbul Centre will develop policies in these fields, and provide a sphere for dialogue among different shareholders. In addition, the OECD Istanbul Centre will help the transfer of the OECD instruments, peer reviews, and best practices into Turkiye.

For these purposes, the Centre will organize meetings, workshops, and seminars at different levels, host high-level events such as the Ministerial Conferences of the OECD Regional Programmes, facilitate communication between the public and private sectors, develop cooperation with national, regional, and international organisations. The extensive policy suggestions of the Centre as the results of these processes will support Turkiyes and its neighboring geoghrapy’s efforts in sustainable and inclusive growth.

The OECD Istanbul Centre will make Turkiye the OECD’s regional base for the Balkans, Middle East and North Africa. The work of the Centre will not only be beneficial for Turkiye, but also for the Balkans, Middle East, and North Africa.
The representatives of the OECD member countries and other countries that will attend the meetings of the OECD Istanbul Centre in Turkiye will have a chance in order to get to know Turkiye better. The Centre will improve the relations between Turkiye and the OECD, and be a source of prestige for Turkiye at regional and international levels. The OECD Istanbul Centre was inaugurated on January 22, 2021. This event can be watched via the following link http://video.oecd.org/7461/or/Opening-of-the-OECD-Istanbul-Centre-.html

OECD MINISTERIAL COUNCIL MEETINGS

OECD Ministerial Council is the main decision body of the OECD. OECD Ministerial Council comes together every year with the participation of the related ministers of the member countries in order to discuss the economic and social topics that comprise the world agenda, and set the priorities of the OECD.

The most recent OECD Ministerial Council Meeting was held in two parts, on 31 May-1 June 2021 and 5-6 October 2021 in Paris.

OECD TRADE COMMITTEE

Within the scope of OECD Trade Committee, OECD member countries discuss the trade relations and policies, and set the trade agenda of OECD. The discussions within OECD Trade Committee have important reflections to the agendas of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and G20.

OECD STEEL COMMITTEE

OECD Steel Committee serves as a platform for the discussions regarding the challenges that the global steel sector encounters, and in this committee corrective policy suggestions are developed against these challenges. The discussions in this committee aim at making the steel sector more open, transparent, and sustainable.
OECD Steel Committee focuses on the topics such as recent developments in the steel market, global excess capacity, environmental performance, steel trade, sectoral competition, and state aid to raw materials and steel sector.
The Members and Participants of OECD Steel Committee comprises the 45% of global steel production, and 75% of steel export.

OECD COMMITTEE ON CONSUMER POLICY

The global economy is in a transition, and the consumption channels and habits are changing currently. Under these circumstances, the protection of consumers and developing policies related to consumers emerge as more important topics than they were in the past. OECD Committee on Consumer Policy develops policies in order to ensure the protection of the rights of the consumers in today’s market conditions.