Bulgaria Hosts Second OECD Mission for the Assessment of Corporate Governance
“Good corporate governance of state-owned enterprises is a key objective, and the state is making continuous efforts to improve management, increase efficiency, and enhance transparency in the public sector, as a prerequisite for significant economic benefits.” This was stated by Deputy Minister of Economy and Industry Dontcho Barbalov during a meeting with the second mission of the OECD Corporate Governance Committee in Sofia.
As part of the visit by the delegation of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), two consecutive meetings were held at the Ministry of Economy and Industry – with representatives of the OECD Corporate Governance Committee and a delegation from the OECD Secretariat, led by Ms Gita Kothari, Coordinator for the Organisation’s enlargement process. Both meetings focused on the topic of corporate governance and aimed to assess Bulgaria’s progress in implementing OECD recommendations as part of the country’s accession process.
“We are pleased to once again host an exploratory mission in Bulgaria. Membership in the Organisation is a key foreign policy priority with broad political support, and all activities related to the accession process are being carried out with maximum mobilisation of institutions within the country,” Deputy Minister Barbalov further emphasised.
He reported that following the first mission and the OECD Secretariat’s report on the state of public enterprises, Bulgaria has taken concrete steps in response to the Committee’s recommendations. An updated draft response letter outlining progress on each recommendation has already been submitted to the OECD and received high praise, which led to the organisation of the current second mission.
During the meeting with the delegation from the OECD Secretariat, Deputy Minister Barbalov noted that, in anticipation of the widespread adoption of international standards in state-owned enterprises, training will be organised to prepare experts from these companies for the effective application and implementation of such standards in practice.
In his remarks, he also pointed out that the revised OECD Guidelines on Corporate Governance of State-Owned Enterprises have now been translated into Bulgarian and published on the official websites of the relevant institutions. “I express our deep appreciation for the excellent working relations OECD Secretariat teams and believe that this cooperation will be essential for the successful completion of the accession review,” Deputy Minister Barbalov added.