Bulgaria reaffirmed its determination to join OECD during the second part of the annual Meeting of the OECD Council at ministerial level in Paris
06 October 2021 Events and Discussions
The Minister of Foreign Affairs Svetlan Stoev reaffirmed Bulgaria’s determination to become a member of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to the Secretary-General of the OECD Mathias Corman. The conversation, which was also attended by Deputy Prime Minister for European Funds Management Atanas Pekanov and Minister of Finance Valeri Belchev, took place in Paris as part of the second part of the annual Meeting of the OECD Council at ministerial level.
Bulgaria fully shares the values and principles on which the global community of the OECD is based and is ready to actively participate in the process of taking decisions on important topics on the global agenda, contributing to the affirmationt of the principles and goals of the organisation regionally and internationally, said Minister Stoev.
Mathias Cormann congratulated Bulgaria on the clear progress made in the preparations for accession to the OECD, and encouraged our country to continue taking active steps to fully implement all OECD standards.
In his speech at the OECD Ministerial meeting earlier in the day, the organisation’s secretary-general said he was ready to work to create opportunities to move forward with the accession process of the six candidate countries, including Bulgaria.
In his opening remarks at the beginning of the forum, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, as chair of this year’s meeting, emphasized the US’s support for strengthening the OECD, based on the values of democracy, open market economy, rule of law and human rights. According to him, the organisation has a key role when it comes to dealing with modern challenges – economic recovery after the pandemic, climate change, digital transformation, overcoming inequalities. Any country that shares OECD’s values and is committed to implementing its principles and standards and wants to join the organisation should be able to walk the path to membership, Blinken said.
The participants in the meeting – Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Finance, Economy, Trade, from the 38 OECD member states and the partner countries – took part in the commemoration ceremony marking the 60th anniversary of the organisation. On the occasion of the anniversary, the member states also approved a Declaration on the future vision of the OECD .
Bulgaria’s accession to the OECD will provide an opportunity for even more active and visible participation of our country in the global economic dialogue. Bulgaria’s determination to carry out the organisation’s mission of sustainable and inclusive economic development and address the new challenges was also highlighted in a special statement by the Foreign Minister submitted at the Paris meeting. The statement also emphasized the remaining strong political commitment of our country to join the OECD soon.
The Ministerial Meeting of the OECD Council continues on October 6th, 2021, when Deputy Prime Minister Atanas Pekanov and the Minister of Finance will take part in specialized discussions on issues of international taxation, trade, the transition to zero emissions, digitalization and the building of an inclusive future.
Bulgaria has officially stated its desire to join the OECD in 2007, consistently reaffirming its intention over the years. Alongside Bulgaria, candidates for membership are Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Romania, Croatia.
The preparation of our country for accession to the OECD is coordinated by a special permanent interinstitutional mechanism chaired by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, including representative of all ministries and other institutions.