At the 7th Annual Meeting of International Organisations, which took place virtually on 3 September 2020, 50 heads of international organisations (IOs), including OIE Director General Dr Monique Éloit, endorsed a joint statement recognising the need for effective, impactful and co-ordinated international action through international rulemaking.

The COVID-19 crisis has underscored the need for international coordinated action to address global issues, and IOs have a critical role in providing international rules that are transparent, inclusive, effective and evidence-based. This crisis has confirmed the great value of the work undertaken by the Partnership of International Organisations for Effective International Rulemaking (known as the IO Partnership).

The IO Partnership, comprising 50 international organisations, was set up by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) within the framework of the work performed by its Regulatory Policy Committee (RPC) to promote international regulatory cooperation.

The IOs involved work together to exchange information, experiences, and best practices in the areas of development of international instruments, implementation and evaluation of these instruments, stakeholder engagement and coordination across IOs. These efforts aim to support the greater use of international instruments, and strengthen the quality, evidence base and consistency of international rules.

The IO Partnership is currently developing a Compendium of IO Practices for Effective International Rulemaking. The aim is to provide detailed guidance on core features of international rulemaking and offer a toolbox to guide IOs in continuously improving the quality and impact of international rules. The Compendium is due to be released in September 2021.

The 7th Annual Meeting of International Organisations was structured as follows:

• A high-level webinar entitled ‘International Organisations and their Members Facing the Global Crisis Together’

The webinar brought together 100 participants and was opened by United Kingdom Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) Nigel Adams, and OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría. The opening was followed by remarks from leaders of the Pharmaceutical Inspection Co-operation Scheme (PIC/S), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM), the OIE, the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA), the World Customs Organization (WCO), and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

• A second webinar entitled ‘The IO Partnership in Action: Towards a Compendium of IO Practices and Beyond – Self-reflection, Peer-learning and Adapting to a Changing World’

The purpose of the second webinar was to discuss the status of the Compendium of IO Practices, with interventions by Focal Points. The OIE is the Focal Point for the Working Group on Strengthening the implementation of IO instruments.