Minister of Finance Netanyahu: Joining the OECD is a matter of strategic importance in the process of positioning the Israeli economy among the developed and advanced economics of the world, attracting international investments, and influencing the global economic agenda
The Ministry of Finance released (17/10/04) the 2003 annual report on Israel's activity in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development-the OECD.
The report describes the range of Israeli activities in the OECD in 2003, reviews the actions of government offices (including the Ministry of Education, the Antitrust Authority, and the National Laboratory Certification Authority), refers to the visit to Israel of the Secretary General of the OECD, and describes the OECD's activities and structure.
The Ministry of Finance is promoting Israel's membership in the organization and chairs an interministerial committee that was established to attain this goal. The members of the committee are the Ministries of Foreign Affairs; Industry, Trade, and Employment; the Environment; and Justice.
In 2003, Israel's activity in the OECD expanded considerably in three main spheres: organizational affairs, diplomatic activity, and legal review. At the organizational level, Israel took part in various committees, working groups, conferences, reports, and surveys. In the diplomatic sphere, Israel took action to attract greater support from member countries and the OECD apparatus for its inclusion as a full member as soon as a decision to expand the organization is made. In the legal sphere, a review continued of the correspondence of Israeli law to the accepted legal codes among member states and of its implications.
The Minister of Finance, Benjamin Netanyahu, congratulated the ministry upon the release of the report. Mr. Netanyahu noted that it is a matter of vast strategic importance for Israel to join the OECD, the organization of developed countries, as part of the positioning of Israel as an advanced, developed, and open economy that can attract international investments. The Minister added that the report attests to Israel's extensive activity in the OECD and hopes that Israel's efforts to be admitted as a full member will succeed in the near future.
The Minister of Finance took up the issue of Israel's joining the OECD in his meetings with numerous ministers of finance at the IMF conference in Washington in early October. Mr. Netanyahu was supported by various counterparts with whom he met (e.g., of France, Canada, Germany, the U.K., the Netherlands, the U.S., and Italy) and was praised for Israel's economic policies.
To see the full report (Hebrew), visit the Ministry of Finance Web site at www.mof.gov.il/beinle/oecd.htm
