On the opening day of the meeting, State Secretary Raščan and other senior representatives of the Member States discussed the COVID-19 pandemic. He pointed out that the pandemic had highlighted the profound inequalities and weaknesses of societies all around the world, including in health systems. According to him, the world will have to be better prepared to deal with similar crises effectively in the future. The resilience of societies will be one of the priorities of the Slovenian EU Council Presidency. State Secretary Raščan also underlined the importance of international cooperation and the search for common solutions to cross-border challenges.

He went on to thank Secretary-General Ángel Gurría for his successful fifteen-year leadership on behalf of the Slovenian Government. Slovenia joined the OECD in 2010, during his term in office.

The second day of the meeting was dedicated to a discussion between the Member States’ representatives and the new Secretary-General, Mathias Cormann. State Secretary Raščan expressed support for the future work of the OECD in addressing new challenges, from climate change and digital economy to equality and tackling health crises. He proposed that the OECD draw up a list of measures and countries’ experiences of tackling the pandemic, which will help countries to strengthen their resilience to future cross-border challenges. He also reiterated the importance of cooperation and unity in action.

For the first time, Costa Rica, which became the 38th OECD member in May, took part in the meeting.

A number of documents were approved at the end of the meeting, including the Ministerial Declaration, the Youth Action Plan and the COVID-19 pandemic safe international travel plan.