The OECD’s Influence on Governance Issues

Abstract

Israel acceded to the OECD on May 10, 2010. The original request to initiate accession proceedings had been made by then Prime Minister Shimon Peres in 1993. On the day of accession, Israeli newspapers carried reports of jubilation among the political class. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said that the accession was a significant advance in the state’s international relations: “I’d like to thank the 31 member states for voting for our joining the organization. Any one of them could have voted ‘no’ and vetoed our inclusion. They chose not to do so”, Netanyahu said, adding that “at a time when we keep hearing lamentations over Israel’s international isolation”, this was a particularly welcome sign of Israel’s solid international standing (Hoffman 2010). Defence Minister Ehud Barak also hailed the achievement: “This will bring Israel billions”, he said. “It’s an important day for the Israeli economy”. Uri Gutman, the Foreign Ministry’s director of the OECD accession process, said Israel was now a “member of a prestigious organization, but also an organization that has some credibility and influence on the world economy”.