site.btaOECD Representatives Discuss Bulgaria's Accession

The Foreign Ministry Thursday hosted a regular meeting of the Interinstitutional Coordination Mechanism (ICM) for Bulgaria's accession to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) with the participation of a delegation from the OECD Directorate for Legal Affairs led by Gita Kothari, Deputy Director for Legal Affairs and OECD Accession Coordinator, the Ministry said.

Deputy Foreign Minister Maria Angelieva, who chaired the meeting, stressed the excellent cooperation between Bulgaria and the OECD Secretariat. Full membership of the OECD remains a key national priority; in recent months the Bulgarian government has continued and even stepped up its efforts in the accession process, Angelieva said.

The representatives of the Secretariat summed up the progress achieved so far in the accession process, stated their readiness to support the Bulgarian institutions and explained the next stages on Bulgaria's path to full membership. ICM members asked questions and made comments on the process.

The OECD representatives are paying a two-day visit to Bulgaria. A number of meetings at political and expert level with the institutions are planned in order to discuss in greater detail the progress of Bulgaria's accession process to the OECD, the challenges, deadlines and procedures, with a view to achieving the ambition of both sides to complete the technical negotiations by the end of 2025 so that Bulgaria can become a full member in 2026, the Foreign Ministry said.