Lithuania invited to join OECD

VILNIUS, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Lithuania has been formally invited to join the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), with a planned signing of the accession agreement during the OECD ministerial meeting on May 30 and 31 in Paris, Lithuanian authorities announced Thursday.

The invitation "is a result of appreciation of our state's coherent policies and reforms implemented after 1990. We are joining one of the most important organizations in the world and Europe", Lithuanian Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis said at the Lithuanian parliament.

Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite was separately informed about the invitation by OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria.

"OECD sets very high requirements for its member states. Therefore, the reforms delivered by Lithuania and smooth negotiations demonstrate the story of national success leading to new avenues of growth and development," Grybauskaite said in a statement released by her office.

"Membership in the OECD is an internationally recognized mark of progress and trust, which will help Lithuania to compete on the global market," the head of state added.

Grybauskaite is to visit Paris on May 31 to sign the accession agreement, making Lithuania the 36th member of the organization uniting the strongest and most progressive economies of the world.

Lithuania opened its OECD accession talks in April 2015 and the negotiating process was finalized in April this year.

Working with over 100 economies, the OECD is a global policy forum that promotes policies to improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world. Enditem