Press release
Minister McGrath begins official visit to Paris to attend OECD Ministerial Council Meeting
Published on
Last updated on
Published on
Last updated on
The Minister for Finance Michael McGrath has travelled to Paris for an official visit focused on the OECD Ministerial Council Meeting. Yesterday, at the start of his programme, the Minister participated in an engagement with representatives of the banking and financial services sectors, hosted by Ireland’s Embassy in Paris in conjunction with IDA Ireland.
Today, during the OECD Ministerial Council Meeting, Minister McGrath will join with Ministers from around the globe, where they will hold discussions on topics such as the global economic outlook; gender equality and women’s economic empowerment; Ukraine and cooperation and support for reconstruction; and economic resilience through trade policies for resilient, sustainable and inclusive growth. In addition to the formal discussion sessions, Minister McGrath will also have a bilateral meetings with OECD Secretary General Mathias Cormann, and he will have an opportunity to meet with Ministers from other countries to continue discussions on the topics of the meeting and to discuss matters of mutual interest.
Speaking in advance of the meeting, the Minister said:
“Ireland is very active in the OECD as it carries out its influential work in multiple policy areas ranging from economics and tax to development and gender equality. I am looking forward to this OECD Ministerial Council Meeting as it will provide an excellent opportunity to meet and take stock of the global economy in terms of recent developments and outlook. We will also discuss the OECD’s work in support of Ukraine, to which Ireland will be making a meaningful contribution. We will also be sharing perspectives on trade policies which can help to achieve sustainable and inclusive growth and broader economic resilience.”
He added:
“Though this visit is focused on the OECD, I spent a valuable evening at the Embassy of Ireland to France, where I engaged with business leaders from France’s banking and financial sector. France is home to some of the world’s leading banking and financial institutions, many of which have important investments and relationships in Ireland.”
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade. It is a forum whose member countries describe themselves as committed to democracy and the market economy, providing a platform to compare policy experiences, seek answers to common problems, identify good practices, and coordinate domestic and international policies of its members.
The Ministerial Council Meeting (MCM) is OECD's most important annual event, attended by the Ministers of Finance, Economics, Foreign Affairs, Trade and other ministries from the Organisation’s, as well as Key Partner and Accession countries and High Level representatives from various International Organisations.
The 2023 MCM, chaired by the United Kingdom, with Costa Rica and New Zealand as Vice-Chairs, is taking place on 7 and 8 June 2023 at the OECD Headquarters in Paris.