Dalić after talks with the OECD Secretary-General: Accession is a long and demanding process

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Crafts, Martina Dalić, met on Tuesday in Paris with the OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría and members of the OECD Council, with whom she discussed the letter of intent regarding Croatia’s accession to full membership in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

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Deputy Prime Minister Dalić emphasized that based on the decision of the Croatian Government, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković sent a letter of intent regarding the accession of the Republic of Croatia to full OECD membership, as stated in the Ministry of Economy’s press release.

“Accession to the OECD is a long and demanding process, but I believe that we will transfer the values that the OECD promotes to our immediate neighborhood, in order to achieve stronger political and economic stability, as well as a higher level of security in the region. In addition, Croatia can provide added value to the OECD in areas where it has significant experience, tradition, and comparative advantage,” said Dalić.

“Croatia will continue cooperation with the OECD through participation in various working bodies and through accession to OECD legal instruments while simultaneously continuing to implement its national reform program,” said Deputy Prime Minister Dalić, highlighting some of the most significant segments of that program.

Intensifying Recovery

The Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that the Government of the Republic of Croatia has been implementing reforms aimed at promoting sustainable growth, improving the business and investment climate, increasing employment, and ensuring macroeconomic stability since the very beginning of its mandate.

She pointed out that the recovery of the Croatian economy intensified in 2016, when positive economic trends resulted in an annual GDP growth of 2.9 percent, which was one of the highest among EU member states in the last quarter of 2016, according to the Ministry.

Furthermore, the Government of the Republic of Croatia sent a letter of intent regarding the accession of the Republic of Croatia to full OECD membership in January of this year.

The OECD is an international organization that brings together the world’s most developed economies. The goals of the OECD are to raise living standards, increase employment, maintain financial stability, support sustainable development, and promote overall growth in world trade. The OECD has 35 member countries, the most economically developed countries in the world.

The process of accession to the OECD begins with an invitation to a country to join, after which the OECD develops an accession plan with criteria that the country must meet.