December 12 (SeeNews) - Croatia expects its bid to join the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) will be considered in the next few weeks by the OECD council, prime minister Andrej Plenkovic said.
"This is an organization that has significant expertise in the fields of economy, finance, anti-corruption, public procurement and tax policies, everything that can help us fulfil our national reform programme," Plenkovic said in a statement on Monday, following his meeting with OECD secretary general Angel Gurria in Paris.
At the beginning of this year, Croatia sent a letter to the OECD in which it formally signalled its ambition to join the organisation.
"We expect that during the process that will last a year to one-and-a half years, we will intensify our talks and Croatia will approach the various international legal documents that the OECD has, and thus gradually move towards membership," Plenkovic noted.
He added that he hopes Hungary and Slovenia will drop the veto on Croatia's membership bid.
"It is a principled position of all the members of the European Union that we need to support each other," Plenkovic explained.
Earlier this year, Plenkovic said that membership in the organisation would give legitimacy to the country in several areas, including fiscal responsibility and the rule of law, which would be particularly useful in attracting foreign investors.
OECD, founded in 1960 to promote economic progress and world trade, has 35 member countries.