Acting Prime Minister & Minister of Finance Ehud Olmert said last week that Israel meets all major criteria and demands required for joining the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
Olmert made his comment in a document prepared by the ministry of finance for circulation to all OECD member countries. Currently, 30 countries are members of OECD and it is considered one of the most highly sought-after groups to join, behind the G8. Joining the OECD is a strategic target for Israel.
In his comment Olmert wrote: “The State of Israel meets all the requisite criteria and has taken the lead over other nations in terms of scientific publications, numbers of engineers and patents, R&D and GDP. The Israeli economy is making confident strides forward,”. He added that it was highly important that Israel be admitted to the OECD as a full member since it is not only in the interest of the OECD but also because Israel’s inclusion would contribute to, and strengthen the organization.
The Acting Prime Minister gave detailed analysis of Israel’s key economic achievements since 2005 onwards.
These were as follows:
- GDP increased by 5.2%.
- GDP per capital reached $17,838 in 2005.
- The weight of total trade in the Israeli economy reached 97% of GDP.
- Economic growth rate was on average, 2.7% higher that of the 30 members of the OECD.
- In recent years, foreign investment exceeded $33 billions.
- Israel’s GDP per capita, relative to the world’s top 43 developed countries, was 88% of the OECD average countries.
Treasury officials commented last week that Peter Costello, treasurer of the Commonwealth of Australia, informed Bank of Israel government Stanley Fischer and Finance Ministry director-general Dr.Yossi Bachar that France was expected to resist Israel's bid to join the OECD. According to the treasury sources, Costello said Australia will support Israel's addition to the organization but other countries will object because of concerns that the organization will grow too much.
