On 10 May this year, Israel was invited by the 31 OECD member states to join the organization. Since then Israel has been a de factor member and the designated ambassador, Nimrod Barkan, along with representatives of other government ministries, began to attend all of the organization’s meetings as full members.
On 27 May, Israel was officially invited to join the OECD at a festive ceremony that was held at the organization’s headquarters. PM Netanyahu and the Ministers of Finance and Industry attended the ceremony that was held under the auspices of the Secretary General and the Prime Minister of Italy. Sec-Gen Gurria and PM Netanyahu both stressed in their speeches the mutual benefit that Israel, the OECD and its member states will enjoy from sharing their accumulated knowledge and experience.
The invitation to join the OECD attests to the organization’s recognition of Israel’s achievements, economic strength and its ability to contribute to the organization and to the global economy. Israel’s accession to the OECD will boost Israeli society and the economy and contribute to upgrading areas such as the environment, education, employment and many others.
The accession process, which began three years ago, was led by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Finance, with active assistance from many other government ministries, governmental authorities, the Knesset, the Bank of Israel, the public sector, economic and social organizations, the Manufacturers’ Association, the Histadruth, universities and NGOs.
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