OECD to shoulder 285,000 euros of Ukraine's membership fees for 2024

MOSCOW. July 18 (Interfax) - The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) will allocate nearly 285,000 euros to help pay Ukraine's membership fees and contributions for 2024, Ukrainian First Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Yulia Sviridenko said.

"This support will finance Ukraine's participation in several key bodies, ensuing our continued cooperation and growth," Ukrainian media outlets quoted Sviridenko as saying in a statement on social media.

She thanked the OECD and its Secretary General Matthias Kormann.

As reported, following a request from Ukraine to start the process of accession to the OECD, the OECD Council recognized Ukraine as a prospective member country in October 2022 and asked the secretary general to open the initial accession dialogue.

The OECD Council, seeking to further structure this dialogue and open a new stage in bilateral relations, invited Ukraine to undertake a four-year Country Program, which was launched in June 2023. The program does not give Ukraine any special status within the OECD and does not obligate the OECD or Ukraine to participate in the accession process. Nevertheless, it seeks to help Ukraine move closer toward its potential accession by deepening its cooperation with OECD bodies and instruments.