JERUSALEM: OECD chief Angel Gurria tells Israeli President Peres that Israel has been "navigating the waves well" amidst global economic uncertainty

Record ID: 397415

  • Title: JERUSALEM: OECD chief Angel Gurria tells Israeli President Peres that Israel has been "navigating the waves well" amidst global economic uncertainty
  • Date: 6th June 2012
  • Summary: JERUSALEM (JUNE 5, 2012) (REUTERS) SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE OECD ANGEL GURRIA SHAKING HANDS WITH ISRAELI PRESIDENT SHIMON PERES / GURRIA AND PERES TAKING SEATS OFFICIALS (SOUNDBITE) (English) SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE OECD, ANGEL GURRIA, SAYING: "Israel has been doing a good job, has been not only navigating the waves well but also you have had a good growth performance
  • Embargoed: 21st June 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Jerusalem
  • City:
  • Country: Israel
  • Topics: International Relations,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA2YI9OF2RBZ2A94JCSTY4PRP2Z
  • Story Text: Israeli economy will have positive growth performance in 2012 despite global economic uncertainty, the head of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said on Tuesday (June 5).
    Angel Gurria, the Secretary General of the Paris-based OECD, told Israeli President Shimon Peres in Jerusalem that Israel was "navigating the waves well".
    "Israel has been doing a good job, has been not only navigating the waves well but also you have had a good growth performance in 2010, in 2011. Even in 2012, which is a very difficult year, for the reasons I have mentioned, you're gonna grow above three percent. Our forecast is that you are going to grow closer to four percent next year," Gurria said.
    Peres thanked Gurria for accepting Israel as an OECD member two years ago.
    "I want to thank you personally. I know you played a great roll in bringing us together and encouraging us, and encouraging others, to make us a member," Peres said.
    Israel's economy grew at its slowest pace in nearly three years in the first quarter but growth in 2012 is still on track to outpace much of the world as long as the Euro zone crisis is contained.
    Later on Tuesday, during a panel discussion about social policy attended by Bank of Israel governor Stanley Fischer, Gurria detailed some of the reforms that Israel still needed to pursue.
    "Education narrows income gaps, enhances social cohesion, provides a fundamental source of economic growth and this is a particular useful toll in Israel, given that almost half of all children starting primary school belong to low earning Arab Israeli and Ultra orthodox communities," Gurria said.
    Fischer said that due to low revenue projections, taxes in Israel will be raised.
    "The revenue projections have turned out to be low and we're going to have to raise taxes in order to have decent, not to have excessive, deficits," Fischer said.
    Growth in Israel in the first three months of 2012 was an annualised 3.0 percent, the Central Bureau of Statistics said last month in its first estimate of gross domestic product.
    Although it was the slowest rate since the April-June period in 2009, growth topped an average forecast of 2.3 percent in a Reuters poll.
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