Prime Minister of Ukraine and OECD Secretary-General announce opening an OECD Office in Kyiv
Strengthening cooperation between Ukraine and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is one of the key priorities for transforming the Ukrainian economy and promoting its deep integration into international markets. This was stated by Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal following a meeting in Kyiv with OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann.
“I am extremely pleased to announce the opening of an OECD Office in Kyiv. The Office will allow us to coordinate joint work in the field of reconstruction and recovery of Ukraine, while improving the implementation of OECD instruments, standards and recommendations in Ukraine,” the Head of Ukrainian Government said.
According to the Prime Minister, Ukraine and the OECD have already achieved important results in such areas as anti-corruption reform, tax system improvement, investment, green economy, entrepreneurship and competition policy, corporate and public administration, education, energy and decentralization. In addition, according to Denys Shmyhal, an important step in deepening cooperation with the OECD in the anti-corruption area was Ukraine’s accession to the OECD Working Group on Bribery in International Business Transactions.
“We have discussed the details of our joint work with the OECD within the framework of the Multi-agency Donor Coordination Platform to support and assist Ukraine. We are confident that the OECD can play a leading role in integrating the efforts of the international community to support the Ukrainian economy and implement the Ukraine Recovery Plan. In this context, I would like to thank the OECD for its analysis of the Plan and the expert recommendations and comments provided by the Organization,” the Prime Minister emphasized.
Denys Shmyhal stressed the importance of the OECD Council’s decision to grant Ukraine the status of a potential member of the Organization and to launch a dialogue on accession.
“Today we clearly understand the further steps that Ukraine needs to take within the framework of the initial dialogue on accession to the Organization. We are working together to develop a Program for Ukraine, the implementation of which will allow us to move to the Roadmap for Membership. And we welcome your proposal to sign such a program as early as June this year," the Prime Minister of Ukraine said.
In the presence of the Prime Minister of Ukraine and the OECD Secretary-General, an agreement was signed on Ukraine’s participation in the PISA 2025 international education quality study.
Mathias Cormann confirmed the opening of the OECD Office in Kyiv starting March 1. He also noted that Ukraine, even during the full-scale war, continued to maintain its governance, to recover and work to implement all reforms, and build a better and more modern Ukraine. According to the Secretary-General, work is underway to ensure the initial stage of the dialogue on Ukraine’s further approximation to OECD standards and full membership in the Organization.