New York: The word "multilateralism" becomes the hottest word at the summit of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), as thousands of senior government officials, CEOs, scholars gathered in Paris this week for the annual event.
The theme of the summit this year is "Rebuilding Multilateralism."
French President Emmanuel Macron made an appeal of opposing unilateralism in his speech at the opening ceremony, saying that unilateral responses and threats of a trade war "will not solve at all" the serious imbalances in world trade.
Participants of the forum also expressed their support for multilateralism. Alvaro Santos Pereira, acting chief economist of the OECD said the summit provides an opportunity to discuss important issues for the world economy and especially for the people.
"What is the future of the international system, the multilateralism system that we have been developing since the Second World War. Is it time to rethink it? What can we do in order to improve it? How can we make sure that growth works for all and not only for a few? And also, how can we improve the ways that we communicate in dialogues? So I think this is why this debate is so important at this juncture that we're living right now, so I think it's crucial for us to think and rethink multilateralism," said Pereira.
Pereira pointed out that policy makers needed to listen to the people before making any decision and that is why the summit is important.
"They need to understand what is the needs of families, what needs of corporations, what is the need of somebody that is highly skilled or low-skilled. And for that, the best way to understand is to talk to people and for people to talk with each other. That's why this dialogue is so important," said Pereira.
In its global outlook, the OECD noted that the global economy is experiencing stronger growth driven by a rebound in trade, higher investment and buoyant job creation, and supported by very accommodative monetary policy and fiscal easing.
The pace of global expansion over the 2018-2019 period is expected to hover near 4 percent, which is close to the long-term average. However, the Outlook also underlines significant risks posed by trade tensions, financial market vulnerabilities and rising oil prices.