In the statement, the 38 member countries show "deep concern about the negative economic and social impacts of the evolution of the conflicts in the Middle East".

Asked during the closing press conference about the discussions on this point and who took the initiative to include it in the final statement, the secretary-general of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), former Australian minister Mathias Cormann, simply paraphrased the consensus phrase.

"In the statement that was adopted, our ministers express concern about the economic and social impacts of the evolution of the conflicts in the Middle East. I think that is clearly one of the very significant challenges that we face. That was part of the discussion and it was reflected in the fourth point of the ministerial statement," Cormann explained.

The OECD secretary-general did not want to say who was behind the initiative to address the issue, which in principle is not the responsibility of an organization focused on the economy, and also declined to comment on the discussion that it generated.

For Israel, which is experiencing great isolation in most international organizations, the goal was to find a way to alleviate this situation in the OECD with some condemnation of the attacks by the Islamist group Hamas on October 7.

Israeli Economy Minister Nir Barkat arrived in Paris, the organization's headquarters, on Wednesday, one day before the start of the ministerial meeting, and was not expected to return to his country until at least Saturday.

One of the criticisms of the consensus of the final statement, by at least one delegation, was that the point referring to the war in the Middle East was reduced to a concise and succinct sentence, when a paragraph of eight lines had been dedicated to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

In that paragraph, the OECD "condemns Russia's aggression against Ukraine in the strongest possible terms" and stresses that "the unjustified and unprovoked war against Ukraine is a clear violation of international legality and a serious danger to the international order based on rules".

There were also countries that expressed their dissatisfaction with the fact that the final declaration of the ministerial meeting had entered into these questions of international politics, as this could undermine its credibility at a time when the organization is in a phase of expansion, with seven countries in the process of accession, including Brazil, Argentina and Peru.

According to the Israeli press, Barkat took advantage of his presence in Paris to file a complaint with Cormann about the Turkish decision - announced on Thursday night - to suspend all trade with Israel, in retaliation for its military actions against the Palestinian territories.

The Israeli minister argued that this measure attacks some of the principles of the OECD, which throughout its history has meant promoting the removal of barriers to trade, and in particular against another member state.

The conflict in the Middle East also led Colombia - which is also a member of the organization - to announce on Thursday that it will break off diplomatic relations with Israel.

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