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Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Address at the CFO Forum |
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| 11/02/2004 |
Good Evening.
I am very pleased to be here with you tonight. I admit that I was worried I would not be able to attend, but as you can see, it was important to me to come and here I am.
I am certain that I will not be saying anything new to anyone if I tell you that in the modern world in which we live, the key to success is cooperation and working together. This is true in the diplomatic sphere, this is true in the political sphere (regrettably, not everyone understands this, and I hope they will understand it in the future) and it is true, of course, in the business sphere.
I know that this is what you envisioned when you established the CFO Forum, and that the Forum coordinates widespread activities to assist its members, and in fact, the entire private sector of the economy, to carry out business activities in the most efficient manner.
I was pleased by your joint enterprise with the Director General of our Office, Avigdor Itzchaky, to bestow a sign of recognition on a public-governmental body which contributes to creating an environment to support growth in the economy, while removing the unnecessary bureaucracy. The struggle against bureaucracy is endless, and I regret to say that bureaucracy in Israel has not decreased. I hope there will be an improvement regarding this issue in the future.
This is the second year a ceremony is being held, and I hope and believe that it will become a tradition which will engender a drive for public bodies to excel and be outstanding. I congratulate this year's winners, and hope that the list of candidates in the coming years will grow.
The Government, which I head attributes great importance to encouraging the business sector. The Government must create an environment which will allow you to do what you do best, and this is a forum which can truly do things in the best possible way to produce, export, expand activities, set up factories and other businesses, create new sources of labor and increase the national product. Only through this kind of encouragement can we propel the Israeli economy onto the path of growth, thus bringing relief and prosperity to all sectors of Israeli society.
Over the past few months we have seen that this Government policy, in the economic field is beginning to bear fruit, and the economic forecasts indicate that 2004 will see positive growth in the Israeli economy.
I take this opportunity to call on you to deepen your mobilization to community projects and assistance to the underprivileged, primarily children and teenagers.
I know that many of you are active in this field, and you make a great contribution to socioeconomic causes in the State of Israel. But it should be expanded even further. Recently, I was afforded the opportunity of seeing a number of these types of projects, including those, which involve cooperation between the business and government sectors for children at risk and in distress. I view this activity in the private sector as part of the national effort in the economy. Ultimately, this activity rewards us all of us ten-fold through a young generation, talented and experienced, which will be integrated into economic activity in the future.
I believe that we must always aspire to such cooperation, and I am convinced that the people of Israel will succeed in realizing all their dreams and hopes only if we work together. I am certain that we will know how to do this, and together we will achieve quiet, prosperity, growth and, with G-d's help, also the peace we long for.
Thank you.
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