Chmelova Becomes Slovakia's New Permanent Representative to OECD

Bratislava/Paris, 10 December (TASR) - Bronislava Chmelova has become Slovakia's new Permanent Representative to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris, TASR learnt from the Foreign Affairs Ministry's communications department on Wednesday. Chmelova is a career diplomat with more than twenty years of experience in creating and implementing strategies to support the development of the business environment and economic diplomacy. In addition to serving at the Foreign Affairs Ministry, she also worked at the Economy Ministry. As an economic diplomat at Slovak embassies in Ireland and Austria, she promoted Slovakia's trade and economic interests and the development of economic relations. Most recently, at the Foreign Affairs Ministry, she was the head of the economic diplomacy coordination section. "The OECD is an important partner for Slovakia in building a competitive economy, implementing reforms, economic development and in strengthening its position on the international stage. Slovakia is therefore represented within this organisation in Paris by professionals and with clear priorities in response to current challenges, from economic transformation to digitisation and the use of artificial intelligence," stated Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD). "The priorities will include strengthening economic modernisation and competitiveness, developing sector policies from trade, education, and innovation to the environment, digitisation and the responsible use of artificial intelligence," said Chmelova, adding that emphasis will be placed on sharing the OECD's applicable outputs and on involving small and medium-sized enterprises, academia and regions in OECD's projects. According to Chmelova, activities that make development aid more effective are also important. The OECD recently published an evaluation report on development cooperation, praising how it is managed in Slovakia, including expertise and reliability with a clear legislative and political framework. The OECD brings together 38 of the most economically developed countries in the world, with its activities spanning more than 200 specialised committees, working groups and expert teams. Slovakia became an OECD member on 14 December 2000. jrg/df