In addition to the head of the delegation, Iva Petrova, other members participating in the discussions will be economists Enrique Flores, Shakill Hassan, and Karina Garcia.
As in other years, the delegation will hold consultations with leaders of the economy from both the public and private sectors. The delegation will meet with Bank of Israel Governor Prof. Amir Yaron, Bank of Israel Research Department Director Prof. Michel Strawczynski, and other senior Bank of Israel officials, Ministry of Finance Director General Ram Belinkov, Chief Economist Shira Greenberg, and other senior Ministry officials, and senior officials from various other government ministries, banks, the Manufacturers Association, the Histadrut, and more. This year, the discussions will deal with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Israeli economy, including its effect on the labor market, as well as a number of issues including the policy for attaining the targets set for improving environmental quality.
At the end of its meetings, in early February, the delegation will submit an initial report to the Minister of Finance and the Governor of the Bank of Israel. Following that, a detailed annual report will be written in Washington, and submitted for discussion by the IMF’s executive council, as customary regarding each IMF member country.
The IMF’s reports are distributed widely and attract much interest in the global money markets, and have an effect on the rating of the surveyed economies and on the recommendations of global investment banks regarding investments in the Israeli economy.