The OECD Forum

Restoring balance is very much at the heart of this year’s agenda at the OECD Forum on 22-23 May. Economic imbalances; the contribution of financial markets; technology and innovation; managing global challenges such as natural disasters and pandemics; managing the successful integration of China and India into the world economy; creating jobs in the 21st century; and how to ensure effective and ethical trade and investment, are just some of the themes.

Since its creation in 2000, the OECD Forum has become a “must-go” event on today’s crowded international calendar for several reasons. Not only is it a “multi-stakeholder summit” which brings together business and labour leaders, civil society personalities, government ministers and leaders of international organisations to discuss the key issues of the 21st century, but it is held in parallel with the annual OECD Ministerial Council Meeting (MCM), held this year on 23-24 May. This makes it a rather rare and valuable forum of high-level exchange between all stakeholders concerned with building a better world.

Kostas Karamanlis, prime minister of Greece, who chairs the MCM, will make a keynote address at the Forum. Greek minister of economy and finance, George Alogoskoufis, will report on the Forum 2006 discussion to the annual OECD ministerial meeting.

Jean-Claude Trichet, President, European Central Bank (see page 6), will also speak at the Forum in a keynote capacity. Other special guests include Stanley Fischer, Governor of the Bank of Israel; Yves-Thibault de Silguy, Senior Executive Vice-President of International Affairs, Suez; Jagdish Bhagwati, Professor of Economics, Columbia University, US; and John J. Sweeney, President, American Federation of Labor–Congress of Industrial Organizations. (AFL-CIO).

For a complete programme, list of speakers, commercial sponsors and more, visit www.oecdforum.org or contact John.West@oecd.org.

©OECD Observer No. 255, May 2006