ForMin Melescanu: Joining OECD, modality to thurst interior reform agenda

Joining the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is regarded, in the first place, as a modality to stimulate reforms in Romania, incorporated in the objective of increasing the welfare of citizens, Romanian Foreign Affairs Minister Teodor Melesdcanu said in Paris on Friday, on the occasion of the visit to the OECD seat, where he met the organisation Secretary General, Angel Gurria.

"We believe that the joining the OECD does not represent a goal in itself, but a modality to thrust our interior reform agenda and, at the same time, a natural development after the accession to NATO and the European Union. To us, this meeting is a good opportunity to confirm the interest in becoming a member of the OECD family. We highly appreciate and absorb the values that OECD represents - respectability and responsibility, the preservation of the confidence and welfare of our citizens, as well as access to the best policies and practices available, in a wide range of areas," Melescanu pointed out, in the speech delivered to the Council of the organisation, made up of permanent representatives of the OECD member states, in a meeting devoted to Romania, presided by the Secretary General.

According to a Romanian Foreign Affairs Ministry (MAE) release sent to AGERPRES on Friday, the speech of the Romanian Minister was followed by a dialogue with the permanent representatives of the OECD member states.

The visit of the Romanian Foreign Minister was aimed at promoting Romania's goal of joining the OECD, assumed on a political level and by all society's components, as well as at presenting the recent developments in Romania, with a focus on stability and the macroeconomic prospects, the government's reform programme and Romania's participation in the activities of the Organisation and in regional and global initiatives, the quoted release reads.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development is an inter-governmental forum devoted to identifying, disseminating and evaluating the implementation of the proper public policies for ensuring sustainable economic growth and social stability.

The 35 OECD members, out of which 23 Europeans, are developed states, holding over 70 percent of the global production and trade, and 90 percent of the worldwide foreign direct investments. AGERPRES (RO - author: Sorin Penes, editor: Mirela Barbulescu; EN - editor: Adina Panaitescu)