(Communicated by the Prime Minister's Media Adviser)
 
The Cabinet, at its weekly meeting this morning (Sunday), 23 May 2010, was updated on the progress of the Doing Business Committee, which began its work in January 2010. The Committee, which was established at the initiative of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz, is chaired by Finance Ministry Director-General Chaim Shani; its other members are the directors-general of the relevant ministries.
 
Prime Minister Netanyahu said: "It is very important to shorten and simplify government bureaucracy; this is what we are interested in doing. When you see these processes, you cannot understand their logic. Any reform begins with the question: Why? In order to start a business, you need 34 days and not one or two? Why does registering property require 144 days and not two weeks? And when you start to answer these questions, then come the reforms. I welcome the fact that the committee is asking these questions and is proposing solutions."
 
In order to fight government bureaucracy, the committee has chosen the World Bank's Doing Business Project. This is an international index that measures the level of bureaucracy involved in doing business in various countries around the world. Israel is currently ranked 29th out of 129 countries. The committee members believe that it is possible to significantly improve Israel's ranking.
 
The committee has elected to focus on three areas: Starting a business, registering property and trading across borders. These areas were chosen because it is in them that Israel can make the most significant progress, lead to an improvement in its ranking and thereby become more attractive to both foreign and domestic business.
 
In contrast to previous committees, the Doing Business Committee is not waiting for the issuance of a detailed report that will be submitted to the government, with action taking place only afterwards. The committee has already begun to implement some of its conclusions and has already succeeded in significantly shortening the waiting period required to start a business from 34 to 20 days.