site.btaForeign Minister Zaharieva: Bulgaria Ready for OECD Membership, Hopes to Receive Invitation As Soon As Possible

Sofia, October 29 (BTA) - Bulgarian Foreign Minister Ekaterina
Zaharieva said on Thursday, speaking at the 2020 Ministerial
Council Meeting of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation
and Development (OECD), that Bulgaria is ready to start
membership negotiations and hopes to receive an invitation as
soon as possible. The meeting was held by video conference,
Zaharieva's Ministry said in a press release.

For the first time, the applicant countries, including Bulgaria,
 were invited to take part in the key annual forum of the OECD.

Zaharieva said that this country has joined many legal
instruments of the OECD in key areas. As of the start of next
year, Bulgaria will be a full member of OECD's Nuclear Energy
Agency, she said.

The Foreign Minister noted Bulgaria's active cooperation with
OECD and its growing importance at the background of the
Covid-19 pandemic.

The topic of the 2020 Ministerial Council Meeting is the
economic recovery from the pandemic.

Zaharieva said that the pandemic has shown even more clearly how
 interconnected and interdependent the economies of all
countries are. She said that the recovery from the current
crisis should not exacerbate inequalities. "Women are very often
 on the frontline of the fight against the disease and are often
 worse hit by its negative economic impact. We should work even
more motivated for promoting more employment and better career
development for the women in the world," Zaharieva said.

OECD was set up in 1961 and now has 37 member states, among them
 the most developed economies in Europe, North and South
America, and Asia. NV/ZH