The International Monetary Fund’s annual delegation, led by Miguel Segoviano, submitted an initial summation of its meetings in Israel to the Minister of Finance and the Governor of the Bank of Israel today.  The IMF is expected to publish its final report on the Israeli economy for 2022 at a later date.

The Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Israel thank the IMF for today’s publication and appreciate the intensive work of the IMF delegation.

The report outlines the background conditions of the Israeli economy, the fiscal policy measures undertaken by the government, and the Bank of Israel’s monetary policy for dealing with inflation and mitigating it.  The report also deals with important issues on the Israeli government’s agenda, as well as the challenges facing the Israeli economy and recommendations for future policy directions.

Minister of Finance Betzalel Smotrich said, “I thank the IMF delegation for their professional in-depth work.  The IMF’s announcement is a certificate of appreciation for the strength of the Israeli economy, and positively notes Israel’s growth rates in 2022, our low unemployment, the stability of our financial system, and the impressive decline in our debt-to-GDP ratio, all of which attest to the strength and dynamism of the Israeli economy.  The notice points to the our economic stability and strength, alongside the need to take policy measures to deal with the structural challenges we face, and compliments the conservative and responsible budget that maintains fiscal space and enables us to deal with economic trends and developments.”

Bank of Israel Governor Prof. Amir Yaron said, “I think the members of the IMF delegation for their thorough and professional work over the past few weeks, and for the fruitful discussions we have had with them.  The report points to the strong economic fundamentals of the Israeli economy, alongside the challenges facing it, as well as a variety of essential policy measures that the Bank of Israel is using to mitigate inflation and to maintain the stability of the Israeli economy.  We will study the final report in depth when it is published further to this summary, including all of its important recommendations.”

 

The IMF’s initial report is attached to this notice.  The IMF’s press release can be found here.