OECD chief Gurria meets Netanyahu at cabinet meeting

With economic cooperation organization's head in attendance, PM says Israel must free itself from dependence on world markets.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Netanyahu Gurria 311 (photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem)
Netanyahu Gurria 311
(photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem)
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu praised Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Secretary General Angel Gurria for his efforts in getting Israel accepted into the OECD, during Sunday's weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem which Gurria attended.
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Netanyahu stated that Israel's admittance into the organization of the most advanced economies in the world came as the result of many difficult reforms.
"We needed to enact reforms that would open Israel to imports and free the currency, reforms regarding budgetary restraint and lowering taxes, capital market reforms, pension reforms, support payment reforms, and privatization.  All of these were subject to fierce debate; there was no agreement on them.  It was not easy to enact them.  Since I led many of them, I can say: It was very difficult and we have now received a stamp of approval in that we have been accepted into this organization."
The prime minister added that, in the future, he hoped to see Israel free itself from dependence on world markets by developing growth engines that are not connected to exports, such as the construction and real estate markets in Israel.
"Young couples marry and have children and, naturally, they want apartments, they need homes, malls and schools. All this is related to construction and this is a growth engine in and of itself," said Netanyahu.
Gurria was scheduled to meet with Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Sunday evening.