American and Israeli representatives met yesterday (Tuesday), in Jerusalem for the first physical meeting since the outbreak of the Corona epidemic, as part of participation in the 37th meeting of the Joint Forum for Economic Development between Israel and the United States (JEDG). The forum has been meeting once a year since 1985 and serves as a leading platform for bilateral economic dialogue between the US and Israel.
Both sides expressed satisfaction with the trajectory of bilateral economic relations and emphasized the mutual commitments to expand and deepen policy coordination and cooperation across a wide range of issues.
For the first time, the JEDG meeting included the establishment of four new working groups whose activity will continue throughout the year and will focus on the following topics: regional strategic projects, digital assets, environmental technology and foreign investments.
The forum’s plenary sessions included an overview of macroeconomic performance and presentations on US and Israeli innovation and US-Israel cyber-financial cooperation.
The working groups discussed issues such as regional strategic projects to increase trade and land crossings; The regulation of digital assets and new developments in the field of water and agriculture. An issue that deserves special mention is the decision welcomed by representatives of the finance ministries on both sides to begin negotiations on a tax treaty already during the first quarter of 2023.
The JEDG delegation from the US was headed by Senior Deputy to the Assistant Secretary of State for Business and Economy Mrs. Whitney Baird. The Israeli delegation was headed by the Director General of the Ministry of Finance Ram Belinkov. The professional content of the discussions was led by the Chief Economist Shira Greenberg and her team and the Economic Axis in Washington Noah Heker. The American delegation included the Deputy US Ambassador to Israel Mrs. Stephanie Hallett, Advisor to the US Treasury Secretary Brent Neiman and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Hadi Amer. The Israeli side of the opening session was attended by the director general of the ministry, the chief economist, in charge of budgets, and the accountant general of the Treasury. The Israeli delegation also included representatives from the foreign ministries, the Bank of Israel and the Innovation Authority.
US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Byrd She emphasized the “strength and durability of the US-Israel relationship”, and expressed her “appreciation of the JEDG forum and its ability to deepen economic relations in a variety of areas”, including environmental technology, regional cooperation, and advanced areas such as cryptocurrencies. CEO Blinkov In his words, he noted that “this year’s forum will lay the foundations and infrastructure for strategic ventures and engagements that will be jointly promoted over the coming years.” Chief Economist Greenberg declared that “the 37th meeting of the JEDG Forum is an opportunity to discuss the economic directions required in the face of the economic challenges the world is facing today and to determine together how to continue leveraging the strategic relationship between the US and Israel for the benefit of both sides. We welcome the opening of the tax treaty negotiations between Israel and the USA in the first quarter of 2023, something that will be of great economic value for the Israeli economy.”