After last year's parliamentary elections, Slovakia has good prospects for joining the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in the near future, Canadian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Donald Campbell said after meeting Slovak Finance Minister Brigita Schmögnerová on April 19.
Schmögnerová met with Campbell during her five-day visit to London to attend the annual conference of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Campbell made this statement in response to Schmögnerová's appeal that Canada, as one of the OECD's most influential members, be more active in its support of Slovakia's entrance into the club of the 29 most developed countries in the world.
Membership in the OECD would help Slovakia significantly and would send a positive signal towards foreign investors, said Schmögnerová.
Schmögnerová voiced her regret that Canada, unlike the United States, significantly lags behind other countries in the ranking of foreign investors in Slovakia. Campbell, for his part, confirmed the persisting interest of the Canadian company Trans Canada International in a capital investment into the gas storage company Nafta Gbely.
Campbell also said that the Canadian government is still interested in co-financing the construction of apartments for the Romany community living in Slovakia in order to halt their efforts to emigrate to Canada.
