OECD Secretary-General visits New Zealand

Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay today announced the Government will welcome the Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Mathias Cormann, to New Zealand on 27-28 August.

"I'm pleased to host Secretary-General Cormann for his first official visit to New Zealand. This is an opportunity to highlight the Government's trade and economic priorities," Mr McClay says.

"We have set the aspirational target of doubling trade by value in ten years. To achieve this, insights from the OECD on global challenges including economic growth, public demand for strong and resilient trade, and the adoption of transformative digital technologies will be invaluable.

"New Zealand's two-way trade with the 38 OECD member countries totalled $47.28 billion last year. These are critical relationships for us and the OECD provides an important international forum to further deepen and build these ties.

"The OECD enables New Zealand to exchange best practice, cooperate with other leading economies, and draw on economic data and evidence-based analysis to inform policy decisions."

The visit will include engagements with the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, other Government Ministers, senior officials, academics, and business leaders.

Secretary-General Cormann will be accompanied by the Director of the OECD's Trade and Agriculture Directorate Marion Jansen.

The OECD is a forum and knowledge hub for data, analysis and best practices in public policy. Its member countries span North and South America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific.