By Janet Ekstract
NEW YORK (TURKISH JOURNAL)- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivering the keynote address at the 60th anniversary of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on Tuesday, said the OECD is more crucial than ever in tackling the most daunting issues of the 21st century. Blinken highlighted the COVID pandemic, the climate crisis, infrastructure and cyberspace as the most urgent areas where more action must be taken to achieve ideal outcomes for a secure future. The secretary of state pointed out that “We believe our economic health is rooted in democracy, the rule of law, human rights, a commitment to open and transparent market economies.” Blinken added that the OECD philosophy is “rooted” in its ability to use these “shared principles” and apply them dealing with modern challenges. He said “there are vast opportunities” to work with the OECD moving forward.
Blinken explained the OECD is involved in solutions to the four major challenges in the 21st century that are especially dire. The first is the COVID-19 pandemic where he said the OECD “provided us with critical data” to predict the economic impact of the crisis and “elevate evidence-based strategies to build back better.” He said the OECD was one of the first organizations to urge groups of countries to make advance purchases of vaccines through COVAX. The second challenge where the OECD is playing a significant role is in the climate crisis – that he noted is having rippling effects globally “on economies and lives from agriculture to infrastructure to public health to food security.” Blinken added that the OECD digital climate tracker will be the key to keeping nations committed to their climate goals by openly tracking a nation’s progress toward goals it already set.
He reiterated that nations must have “high standards around infrastructure investment” that must increase environmental and social sustainability in coordination with economic viability, transparency and inclusivity. Blinken explained this means that all new infrastructure must be designed with reducing carbon emissions in mind. To that end, he referenced the Blue Dot Network – an initiative of the U.S., Japan and Australia to certify infrastructure projects based on existing standards developed by the OECD and multilateral development banks as well as other institutions. He added that the OECD’s Trust in Business team and the Executive Consultation Group of over 160 representatives from business, civil society and academia, that the OECD helped organize, are strengthening methods the Blue Dot Network will be using.
The third challenge Blinken referenced is inequity hitting “undeserved populations” that has skyrocketed as a result of the pandemic and climate crisis. He said the OECD can significantly contribute to reducing global inequity by advancing efforts on a global corporate minimum tax rate. He said the OECD estimates that “corporate tax avoidance costs anywhere from $100 billion to $240 billion every single year.” Blinken emphasized that the OECD can demonstrate how “rising inequity actually hurts all of us.” He said the U.S. is investing in a series of initiatives to expand the organization’s capacity to collect and analyze data that measure the cost of discrimination. He added, “we’re helping fund the OECD’s research on the likely net economic and social benefits of our countries enhancing the inclusion of LGBT people.” He added that the U.S. is investing in expanding the OECD’s capacity to collect and analyze data that’s “disaggregated by race and gender.” Blinken stressed that this will increase the OECD’s crucial research showing the widespread economic benefits of economically empowering women.
The fourth challenge he said is formulating rules for new and emerging technologies in an era of disinformation and widespread ethnic bias. Blinken said the joint support from the U.S. for the OECD’s Principles on artificial intelligence in 2019 were the first set of intergovernmental principles on the topic as well as the launch of the Global Partnership on AI in 2020. Blinken added this created a foundation for the world to expand on. Blinken said the first-ever meeting of the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council met last week to adopt a joint statement on AI principles that is rooted in the OECD’s 2019 recommendation about having trustworthy AI that respects human rights and democratic values. To that end, he said that the U.S:, Australia, Japan and India ‘the Quad’ committed to integrating human rights and democratic values into the way technology is designed, developed, governed and used. Blinken said this is most crucial since democracies are “being challenged by authoritarian governments that argue that their model is better at meeting people’s basic needs.” He added that these same governments are “actively seeking to undermine the rules-based order that’s been fundamental to security and prosperity for our countries for generations.”
Blinken concluded: “The stakes simply could not be higher.” He reiterated that the work of the OECD is even more significant that it ever was. The U.S. secretary of state said: “We’ve got to prove that our approach can make life better for people – in our countries and in all countries. And in a way, that’s more equitable than its been in the past.”
