Current president of the Organization of Educational Cooperation (OEC) and deputy premier and Foreign Affairs Minister Demeke Mekonnen said it is high time developing countries came together to address the common challenges they face in education with a renewed spirit of global cooperation and partnership.

The General Assembly of Organization of Educational Cooperation (OEC) kicked off in Addis Ababa today.

In his inaugural speech, the president said that building the organization we deserve shaping multilateralism is one of the substantive agenda.

OEC is coming into being at a critical time for our world which confronts multiple challenges, he stated, adding that the hardest hit are developing countries.

According to him, the existing global governance architecture is outdated and unfair, unable to address these complex challenges.

The Global dynamics requires new ways of thinking about multilateralism, he stressed, adding that “that is why I welcome our high level dialogue which invites us to think ahead of the curve to reform the current international governance system.”

Demeke further pointed out that “creating an inclusive, fair and effective global system that responds to the legitimate demand of the global south should be top of the international agenda.”

Organization of Educational Cooperation (OEC) Secretary-General, Manssour Bin Mussallam highlighted the necessity to contextualize education systems to national priorities and local realities reinforced through the exchange of best practices across countries of the Global South.

He added that “we do have dreams for which we have operational plans and we do have ideals from which we draw unwavering determination to move eluding aspiration to palpable reality.”

There is no middle ground, the secretary-general stressed, further pointing out that member states should continuously commit to championing the supportive role of education in this regard in order to fully implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and realize socio-economic development aspirations.

Mussallam underscored that researchers, scholars, and the youth play pivotal role in revitalising education to buttress the global development agenda.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs International Organizations Acting Director-General, Leulseged Tadesse said “what we are going to do is deliberate upon important ideas, how we need to further re-strengthen and reform the exiting international architecture with ultimate objective of enhancing the voice of developing countries.”

How to further strengthen this newly established organization both in its human resource as well as in terms of mobilizing financial resources would also be discussed.

OEC is a newly established intergovernmental organization and its member mainly come from the global south with the objective of strengthening South-South cooperation and partnership without replacing North-South cooperation that still remains important.

The international headquarters of the organization of OEC was officially inaugurated in Addis Ababa on May 2023.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency