Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich met yesterday (Tuesday) with representatives of French and international companies. The Minister is in town for the OCED Conference of Countries.
The meeting was organized by the France-Israel Chamber of Commerce. According to the Finance Minister's announcement, the meeting dealt with regulatory gaps and bureaucracy in the Israeli market and the possibility of accelerating processes that will make it easier for investors from around the world to enter Israel.
The list of managers who met with Smotrich includes representatives from companies such as the Alstom infrastructure corporation, the Printemps department store chain, and representatives from law firms, accounting firms, consulting and investment firms.
Meeting with the French managers,
The finance minister was asked, among other things, about advancing the legal reform and replied that he believes there is a need for the reform and that it is currently being promoted in dialogue with the opposition in the president's residence.
He also said that he believes in the ability of the legal reform to improve the "Doing Business" index by creating certainty for businesses, adding that the demonstrations taking place in Israel show a strong democracy.
The minister emphasized to those present that the Israeli economy has significant strengths and that the State of Israel is ready to respond to the promotion of joint economic initiatives, with an emphasis on initiatives and processes that will increase competition in the Israeli market and ease the cost of living.
"The State of Israel is an island of stability in the turbulent global economy. Its economic strength, the right processes it undergoes, and its amazing development are renowned around the world and create many demands from companies and financial institutions to enter and integrate into the Israeli market.
The emphasis in the near future will be on removing regulatory trade barriers and promoting a free and competitive market, and on accelerating infrastructure projects at huge sums that will serve as growth engines," the minister said.
Smotrich did not meet with any official sources during the current visit to France. On his previous visit, he claimed that "there is no such thing as a Palestinian people," and caused a storm.
"We need to stop talking about reform"
Smotrich's remarks were made at a time when the future of legal reform is somewhat uncertain.
While there are elements pressing to move forward, even unilaterally for lack of choice. Yesterday, the Director General of the Prime Minister's Office, Yossi Shelly, caused a storm when in an interview with Reshet Bet he was asked about the legal reform and whether it is still "on the agenda" or has been completely removed from the agenda.
Minister of Finance Smotrich, photo: Oren Ben Hakon
Shelly replied that he is not a politician, "but I think that the people of Israel understood what happened and I think that in the end it will converge into something positive and we will return to leading the people of Israel together." "We need to stop talking about this [the legal reform] and say what's happening with the Ashkelon oil pipeline, what's happening with the port of Eilat. Talk about it a little bit, enough with this nonsense, stop talking about the legal reform, it will disappear anyway just from the talk."
Later, a clarification was issued on behalf of Shelly, who said, "In my remarks on the radio, I did not mean that we should withdraw from the legal reform, to which we are committed. I wanted to emphasize that alongside the legal reform and the efforts to reach agreements on the issue, the government led by Prime Minister Netanyahu continues to act on many other issues such as lowering the cost of living, the security of Israeli citizens, restoring personal security and streamlining public service for all citizens of Israel."
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