The interaction of the question of population with the economy will be the subject of research in new OECD international center in Greece, as a topic that “links” demography, climate change, immigration and the contribution of the diaspora to the development of the country. In about six months, the OECD team of five will be transferred to the Ministry of Digital Governance, where a demographic observatory will be set up. Crete will host the annual international conference of the OECD, which will present the work of the Athens office. To support the project, Greece will allocate 1 million euros from the state budget. Conversation with “K”Permanent Representative of Greece to the OECD, George Prevelakisexplains how exactly the international infrastructure will work in our country, the installation of which required the approval of all 38 member states of the international organization.

– The OECD will now have its own center in Greece – it has 20 similar centers around the world with different roles. The former were created to sell OECD publications. Regional centers were next to showcase the OECD position at the regional level – see North America for example. Some theme centers followed – see Trento, Italy for local development. A new OECD Theme Center on Population will be established in Greece.

– A year and a half ago, during the visit of the OECD Secretary General to Greece, the Prime Minister proposed to create a thematic center in our country – the proposal could not concern a regional center, because it already exists in Istanbul. The Prime Minister instructed Deputy Prime Minister Panagiotis Pikramenos to make the necessary efforts to ensure the cooperation of the ministries involved and overcome bureaucratic obstacles. I, for my part, organized the persuasion effort of the OECD, starting with the general secretary. Then together we won the approval of 38 Member States, which was not an easy task. Methodical work was needed, because if only one country objected – there were indeed reservations from some sides – the center could not become a reality.

– The center will deal with the issue of population along such axes as demography, migration and diaspora. The focus will be on the relationship between the population problem and the economy, a problem that particularly concerns European countries facing contraction and aging, which affects, among other things, pension systems. On the contrary, African countries face the opposite problem, which is expressed in immigration. This is a very important and broad topic. It should be noted here that the center will not be limited to Greece, it will be international – although it will be more about our wider region. As an OECD center, it will be managed by the OECD, which guarantees both the continuity and the reliability of the project. The benefit for Greece, in addition to its visibility, will be to use the know-how and reflect on the experience of other regions on issues that are of particular concern to us. We will have the openness of our research community with global networks. In recent years, we have been so preoccupied with the short-term consequences of successive crises that we have forgotten the long term. Through this center, we will highlight developments decisive for the future of Greece in the demographic, geopolitical and environmental sectors. And, of course, the work will be done for the OECD. This is a win-win initiative.

– The OECD leadership team that will be appointed to manage the center – five leaders who will be the link to the OECD secretariat – will be located in Athens, namely in the Ministry of Digital Governance, where the demographic observatory will also be located. created phenomena. Crete will be the site where the OECD will hold a major international conference every year within the framework of the Centre’s activities, in cooperation with the Municipality of Chania and with the organization and support of the Delphi Forum. Crete is a place with an appropriate infrastructure and, above all, with an appropriate symbolic character, as a historical crossroads through which all the peoples of the region have passed. In essence, Crete is a bridge between Europe and Africa, and developments in Africa are of particular importance for the future of Europe.

Next steps

– On the Greek side, the office will be financed from the budget in the amount of 1 million euros – this, by the way, is the amount that Turkey pays for an office in Istanbul. The signing of the agreement was the beginning. It then has to be ratified by Parliament. This will be followed by an announcement of positions and a competition under the normal OECD procedure. These procedures will take about six months, after which the assigned team will begin work on the project. Perhaps some event will take place in Crete during this time. However, this is a project that takes its time. It is noteworthy that we already have requests of interest to us from European think tanks.