The challenges are changing over the years

Now take your duties of Secretary General of the OECD. What are your priorities for an institution which, as others, appears through a crisis of identity

This is true of all international organizations... But our mandate is very clear since the creation in 1961, the OECD: ensure that the global economy works best. It covers economic issues: fiscal and monetary imbalances that OECD is trying to correct, the liberalization of investment or trade through negotiations of the Doha round. But also sustainable development with very concrete topics such as access to water for all, the effects of climate change, the use and access to energy resources, science and new technologies, and, of course, the fight against poverty. Not to mention the challenges in the rich countries, for example, the ageing of their population, which raises the issues of health, retirement. And, in view of global demographic change, the problem of migration flows interested in the highest point the organization. In the countries of emigration countries of immigration.

This interest is new to the OECD.

The challenges are changing over the years. OECD must be taken into account and seek to respond. For my part, I wish to focus on three major projects: access to water, migration and health issues. In its broad sense, hospitals in the pharmaceutical industry, professionals of the medicine, medical insurance, the latter sector represents approximately 10 on average in the economy of our country members and 15 in the United States.

What can the specific contribution of OECD to large institutions, such as the IMF, the World Bank, who and the WTO

By vocation and by mandate, we are the institution of globalization. Those you mention have a specific mandate, financial and exchange for the international monetary fund, development and poverty for the World Bank... The OECD, she received mandate of mastering globalization in all its aspects, to analyze and horizontal proposals. Does not replace or compete with other multilateral institutions but we coordinate with them to ensure the best allocation of resources possible. I also started to discuss with Rodrigo Rato, the Director General of the IMF, Pascal Lamy, Director General of the WTO, World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz... This dialogue will be constant.

The OECD has 30 member countries but none of the new heavy weight of the world economy, such as China, the India, the Russia, the Brazil. Do you plan to expand the "club" and where

We maintain regular contact with more than 70 countries on all continents. We have just open an Observatory in Africa. We launched an initiative for the Middle East and the North Africa, but for Latin America. And we follow closely the problems of poverty with the development assistance Committee. But it is true that four or five countries are differentiated from others by the size of their economy and their growth rates. This is the case of China and the India, whose growth is three times greater than that of the United States or the Japan. When the OECD was founded, member countries accounted for 75 of the global economy. Today, this percentage fell to 58. And, in fifteen or twenty years, it could be probably about 50... But I hope that by then we will have integrated these large emerging countries.

This does not preclude work already with them. These ten years we are working with the Russia in a cooperation agreement. I would remind you that we had, a few months ago, the first economic report on China. A report which has been followed by other work on its agriculture, its governance, regulatory framework and its environmental problems soon. For the first time, we will establish, by the end of the year, an economic report on the India.

However, the integration of these countries should be able to move forward. At our ministerial meeting last week, the Council adopted a new governance structure which comes into force on 1 June. Its decisions will be on the basis of a vote by qualified majority and not unanimously as was the case until now. And, in early July will set up a mechanism to identify countries likely to join the Organization and those with whom we must strengthen our relationships. As a result, we will proceed to the second stage of the process of integration, the financial impact of the arrival of new members before enlargement as such.

The problems are of a different nature depending on the case: Israel, democratic China policy...

That is why the challenge is fascinating. But it is the way that we can meet that will depend on the legitimacy of our Organization in the next five or ten years.

What is the key for the OECD Being a meeting place for discreet or more formal, such as the ministerial meeting that took place last week, and yet be a super-"think tank" because of its economic research capacity

We are a little all this and much more than a "think tank". Represent a group of 30 countries gives us the strength and authority moral advice. We know the best practices of economic policies. This allows us to advise the leaders of member countries. As such, the Organization must also inform the national parliaments, academics, public opinion and the opinion leaders of the Member countries of the need to carry out essential reforms to the good development of their economy. Without that they are shackled, as it is often the case, by the electoral deadlines, alternating power cycle policy.