OECD countries agreed to invite Estonia, Israel and Slovenia to become members of the organisation, paving the way for membership to grow to 34 countries.

Chile is set to become the OECD’s 31st member country. It is a momentous occasion, as captured in the following extracts from speeches by President Michelle Bachelet of Chile and by OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría, following the signing of the agreement on the terms of accession by the Republic of Chile to the OECD Convention, delivered in Santiago, Chile, 11 January 2010.

"The right to privacy will remain a cornerstone of our legal system"

“The Chinese government rightly advocates firm opposition to trade and investment protectionism, as emphatically stated by Premier Wen Jiabao on several occasions in the past few weeks. As it did a decade ago during the Asian crisis, China has set itself firmly against inward retrenchment in the face of economic downturn. We celebrate this commitment at OECD.

Ageing, migration, climate change, healthcare, poverty: these all form part of the lengthening list of pressing public policy challenges for the 21st century. But what about infrastructure?

Announcements about enlarging the OECD’s membership and strengthening co-operation with other countries took much of the limelight at this year’s annual ministerial meeting. Below is an extract on enlargement from the Chair’s summary, followed by some selected highlights of the meeting.