The state makes continuous efforts to improve the corporate governance of state-owned enterprises.

Deputy Minister of Economy and Industry Doncho Barbalov stated that good corporate governance of state-owned enterprises is a key goal for the state, which is making continuous efforts to improve management, increase efficiency and transparency in the public sector. This happened during a meeting with the second mission of the OECD Corporate Governance Committee in Sofia.

During the visit of the delegation of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to Sofia, two consecutive meetings were held at the Ministry of Economy and Industry - with representatives of the Corporate Governance Committee and a delegation of representatives of the OECD Secretariat, led by Ms. Gita Kothari, the Organization's Enlargement Coordinator. Both meetings focused on the topic of corporate governance and aimed to assess Bulgaria's progress in implementing the OECD recommendations as part of the country's accession process to the Organization.

Deputy Minister Barbalov stressed that for Bulgaria, membership in the OECD is a key foreign policy priority with broad political support, and all activities related to the accession process are carried out with maximum internal mobilization of the country's institutions. He informed that after the first mission and the report prepared by the OECD Secretariat on the state of public enterprises, Bulgaria has taken specific actions in response to the Committee's recommendations. An updated draft response letter describing the progress on each recommendation has already been provided to the OECD and has received high praise, which has led to the organization of the current second mission.

During the meeting with the OECD Secretariat, Deputy Minister Barbalov noted that in connection with the upcoming widespread introduction of international standards in state-owned enterprises, training will be organized, through which experts from state-owned companies will be prepared for effective implementation and application in practice. He also stressed that the revised OECD Guidelines on Corporate Governance of State-Owned Enterprises have already been translated into Bulgarian and published on the official pages of the relevant institutions.

In conclusion, Deputy Minister Barbalov expressed high appreciation for the excellent working relationships established with the OECD Secretariat teams, and assured that this cooperation will be of fundamental importance for the successful completion of the review of Bulgaria's accession to the Organization.