September 20 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria is expecting a decision for the start of negotiations on its accession to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to be issued in 2020, the economy ministry said on Friday.
Economy minister Emil Karanikolov has officially presented Bulgaria's action plan for joining the OECD to the organisation's board on a meeting held in Paris, the ministry said in press release.
The plan expresses the willingness of the Bulgarian government to speed up its actions towards meeting the standards and criteria for accession to the organisation and aims to support ongoing reforms in key areas, Karanikolov said.
in before OECD's board, headed by general secretary Angel Gurria.
The plan sets specific goals in 22 areas of cooperation between Bulgaria and OECD.
In July, OECD said that the areas of cooperation, part of Bulgaria's draft action plan, are of crucial importance for the key reform priorities of the country, including economic policy, investment and financial affairs.
“The activities outlined in the Action Plan will give Bulgaria access to key information and recommendations to develop and strengthen its reform agenda in favour of strong, inclusive and sustainable growth,” OECD secretary general Angel Gurria said during a meeting with Bulgaria's prime minister Boyko Borissov at the time.
OECD is willing to provide expertise and share its best practices in order to help Bulgaria advance its reforms agenda, Gurria added.
For this purpose, the organisation will conduct a number of policy reviews in several areas of the Bulgarian economy.
Bulgaria first expressed its wish to join the OECD in 1992.