"Membership in the OECD would bring Croatia into the circle of countries that qualify as developed countries in terms of legal certainty, investment climate and public finances, and countries that have adopted the highest world standards and norms. In general, membership in the OECD is a confirmation of the country's compliance with the highest international standards in trade and investment, so OECD members can be considered potentially more attractive for foreign investment and trade," Governor Boris Vujčić said today at the panel discussion "Benefits of Membership in the OECD and Improvement of the Business and Investment Environment", held within the conference "Benefits of Croatia's Accession to the OECD". The conference was organised by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, the Croatian Employers' Association, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the OECD's Business at OECD (BIAC), with the support of the European Commission Representation, in the National and University Library in Zagreb.

According to him, membership in the OECD also allows Croatia to participate in discussions at the highest level on global issues such as agreements on global standards in taxation and the fight against climate change, and agreements on the definition of best practices and policies. This increases the reputation and credibility of the country on the international level, which, of course, again has a positive effect on international trade and investment. "In addition, what would be significant for the CNB is that membership in the OECD would allow Croatia to participate in OECD projects and research and access rich and detailed OECD databases and analyses that are not publicly available. Finally, I would like to point out that Croatia advanced the most in the negotiations of all candidate countries, which is a confirmation that in many areas we are already aligned with the standards and criteria that the OECD requires of its members. Obtaining the status of an OECD member will also be a confirmation to others – i.e. potential investors, rating agencies, trading partners – that Croatia operates in accordance with these standards and norms," said the Governor of the CNB.

The panel discussion moderated by Zdenko Lucić, State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, was attended by Alvaro Santos Pereira, Chief Economist and G20 Finance Deputy, OECD, Martina Dalić, President of the Management Board of Podravka Group, Hanni Rosenbaum, Executive Director, Business at OECD (BIAC), and Mihael Furjan, President of the Croatian Employers' Association.