PARIS (Reuters) – Former Australian finance minister Mathias Cormann said on Friday that he would be proposed as the new secretary-general of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
“Earlier today I learned that the Selection Committee will recommend to the OECD Council that I be appointed as next Secretary-General of the OECD,” Cormann said in a statement.
Cormann said he looked forward to working with outgoing Secretary-General Ángel Gurría – who has led the organisation for 15 years – through a smooth transition.
Cormann said the OECD would continue to focus on maximising the strength of the economic recovery from COVID-19, to promote ambitious action on climate change and work on finalising a multilateral approach to digital taxation.
Cormann, who was born in Belgium and migrated to Australia in 1996, has said the OECD must provide leadership on climate change, adding that the targets set in the 2015 Paris Agreement were a foundation to build upon.
(Reporting by GV De Clercq; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Gareth Jones)
