Celebrating 60 years of strategic cooperation with the OECD as the official voice of the private sector, leaders from our national business organizations from OECD countries representing over 7 million enterprises convened in Paris yesterday at a high-level Business at OECD (BIAC) event that brought together our global network and key government and OECD officials.
This milestone meeting commemorated six decades of business advocacy in all aspects of OECD policymaking. Our national members, the major business and employers’ organizations from OECD countries interacted directly with OECD Secretary General Mathias Cormann, over 25 OECD Ambassadors and OECD colleagues, national business organizations from non-OECD economies, associate experts from international sectoral organizations, companies participating in our corporate engagement program, and policy group leadership.
Business, government, and OECD leaders reviewed past achievements, current challenges, and future areas of work as part of the special partnership that Business at OECD has with the OECD. Addressing over 200 international participants, our Chairman Rick Johnston stated, « our partnership is inspired on a global scale by the need to build bridges between public and private sectors to ensure business is seen as an effective solutions partner in the challenges we face. » The program also featured multinational CEOs and leading entrepreneurs including Paul Hudson, Sanofi Chief Executive Officer, and Seiji Inagaki, Dai-ichi Life Chief Executive Officer.
On the same day, the Business at OECD Executive Board met in Paris and expanded its global network through the approval of three leading business organizations from Ukraine, Peru, and Singapore into its observer program, in addition to the 1 October entry of the Costa Rican Chamber of Industry and Commerce as an additional national member organization.
Business at OECD thanks sponsors who made this event possible, which include Marcegaglia Holding, Ibec Global, the United States Council for International Business, Pernod Ricard, the Costa Rican Union of Chambers and Associations of the Private Business Sector—UCCAEP, and the Costa Rican Chamber of Industry—CICR.