Suchergebnisse

The Ministerial Council of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) met in Paris on December 2–3, 1964, on November 25–26, 1965, on November 24–25, 1966, and on November 30—December 1, 1967, to review the economic situation of its member states and their economic relations with the rest of the world.

The second meeting of the Ministerial Council of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) was held in Paris on November 27–28, 1962, under the chairmanship of Mr. Donald Fleming (then Canadian Minister of Justice and Attorney General). The Council reviewed the economic prospects of the twenty member countries and the Organization's world-wide responsibilities, and surveyed the progress already made toward the growth target defined in 1961.

Representatives of six Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) governments (France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and Turkey) and the government of Yugoslavia signed an agreement setting up the International Center for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies on May 21, 1962, in Paris. The center was established to deal with the shortage of scientific and technical personnel hampering agricultural and economic development in the Mediterranean area. A draft agreement establishing the center had been approved by the OECD Council on January 20, 1962. The center was to be run by a governing body consisting of leading figures in agricultural and economic higher education and research.

The third meeting of the Ministerial Council of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) was held in Paris on November 19–20, 1963, under the chairmanship of Dr. Halyard Lange, the Norwegian Foreign Minister. During the discussion on economic growth the Council took note of the improvement in the prospects for economic growth in member countries since the end of 1962, especially in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. It was expected that the increase in gross national product (GNP) of the OECD area for the period 1960–1964 would correspond to the growth target of 50 percent set in 1961 for the ten-year period beginning with 1960. Because of the persistent gap between the industrialized countries and those that were in the process of development, the Council considered that OECD and its more industrialized members should continue to devote their attention and cooperation to the development problems of the less developed members. The ministers noted in particular that a new Spanish development program would be inaugurated in 1964.

The press reported that on September 30, 1961, the new Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) formally came into being with seventeen out of a possible twenty member nations having. deposited their instruments of ratification of the OECD convention. At the time of the entry into force of the convention, the following nations had deposited their ratifications: Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States, and West Germany. Italy, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg shortly afterwards joined the organization. The OECD convention required members to contribute to the expansion of world trade on a multilateral, nondiscriminatory basis in accord with international obligations. At the first meeting of the organization in Paris on September 30, 1961, Mr. Donald Fleming, Canadian Finance Minister, was elected chairman of the Ministerial Council, and Mr. Gunnar Lange, Swedish Commerce Minister, and Mr. Charles Arliotis, Greek Minister of Coordination, vice-chairmen. Mr. Thorkil Kristensen, the former Secretary-General of OEEC, was named Secretary-General of the new organization, and Mr. Charles Adair (United States) and Mr. Jean Cottier (France) were designated deputy Secretaries-General.

At its meeting on December 12, 1961, the Council of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) agreed to maintain the European Monetary Agreement in force, although with certain modifications. The chief amendment concerned the maximum period for the utilization of credits granted by the European Fund. In addition, OECD could henceforth decide, in exceptional cases, that a credit granted by the European Fund might be repaid in installments spread over no more than two years.

The problems of development assistance have loomed large on the OECD agenda ever since its establishment, first as the Organization for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) and then as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Briefly recapitulated, OEEC was created in 1948 to provide for the joint European execution of the Marshall Plan and for the close economic cooperation that the United States' aid offer had launched. Whatever the actual contribution of OEEC, the postwar European economic recovery was remarkably quick. Few international organizations have been thus blessed with the satisfaction of seeing their objectives so amply fulfilled.