New Center Will Serve as Hub for Balkans, Middle East, North Africa

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) will announce tomorrow it is launching a center in Istanbul, which will be the organization’s fifth international center after Washington, Berlin, Tokyo and Mexico City, and will provide enhanced regional reach into the Balkans, the Middle East, and North Africa for the OECD.

It will be formalized by an agreement signed by Turkey’s Minister of Economy Nihat Zeybekci and OECD General Secretay Angel Gurria at OECD’s Paris headquarters on Thursday. The selection of Istanbul as the Center’s location was the result of successful negotiations between the Turkish government and OECD.

“Turkey is pleased to host the OECD’s next expansion,” said Minister Zeybekci. “While this certainly will serve as a boost to Istanbul’s role as a global business hub, it is about much more than that – we are strongly committed to OECD’s mission of fostering economic growth here at home and among our neighbors.”

The new center will provide a forum in which governments can work together to share experiences and seek solutions to common problems. It will serve as a force for enhanced dialogue among countries and partners – improving public and private sectors relations, and cooperating with local, regional and international institutions. Through these and other efforts, the Center will support sustainable and inclusive growth strategies in Turkey and the region. Using OECD best practices, it will support countries in areas relating to economic competitiveness, entrepreneurship, trade, public administration, innovation, activating human capital, improving infrastructure and connectivity, increasing economic resistance, and green growth.

Additionally, the Center will analyze and compare data relating to global trade, investment, and work to predict future trends.