Mr. Joseph Akerman
Economic Minister and Head of the Economic Mission to the OECD
Joseph is in the Israeli Permanent Delegation to the OECD since September 2020, Joined the Foreign Trade Administration (FTA) in 1997. Since joining the FTA Joseph was on a number of diplomatic Missions: Deputy Permanent Representative of Israel to the World Trade Organization in Geneva and Head of the Economic Missions of Israel to Switzerland, Sweden, Finland, and Norway.
Between Diplomatic Missions Joseph was the Director of the Import Policy department, OECD Department, International Agreements Division and was head of the Responsible Business Conduct Unit he created in 2016.
Joseph and his team represent Israel in many of the committees of the OECD including Investment, Trade, Industry, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Digital Economic Policy, Labor, Science, Technology, and Innovation. Joseph is an active member of the Investment Committee Bureau and the Bureau of the Working Party of the Trade Committee.
Joseph holds a BA in International Relations and Political Science from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and an MBA from the University of Edinburgh. Joseph is also an accredited mediator for the Israeli Court System. Happily married with 2 Daughters.
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Zsofia Borsi has joined the Economic Mission in November 2021. Originally from Budapest, Hungary, she studied Politics, Economics and French at Durham University and at Sciences Po Aix. She obtained her MA degree in Political Science from the Central European University in Vienna. Zsofia was also a Bluebook Trainee in Political Reporting for the European Commission.
In the Economic Mission of Israel to the OECD, Zsofia’s main responsibility is Investment, and related to that, Responsible Business Conduct (RBC). Apart from these fields, she is also in charge of following environment-related developments, such as the transition to net-zero emissions and to a circular economy. In her free time, she manages and writes for an English-language online media platform, entitled Lazy Women. She also enjoys baking, reading fiction and going to live concerts.
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Paolo Cammarota joined the Economic Mission in May 2021. Originally from Italy, he studied International relations at Bologna University and he had an Erasmus exchange at Sciences PO Lille – in France – where he then obtained an MA degree in European Affairs. Paolo worked in the European Commission Interreg Europe program dealing with interregional cooperation projects and completed a traineeship in the Compliance Directorate et the European Investment Bank.
Paolo’s main responsibilities in the Economic Mission at the OECD, are Trade and Industry. Paolo is always following Digital Trade and economic aspect of Industry, innovation and entrepreneurship fields. In his free time Paolo loves to travel and practicing sports; he is also regional basketball referee. In addition, he is visiting professor at Sciences Po Lille, where he teaches a master course on Assembly and Financing of European projects.
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Yasmin Azhari joined the Economic Mission in December 2021. Following her BA degree in International Relations and Communications from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a student exchange at Sciences-PO Paris, she has decided to delve deeper into the field of international economics. She obtained her MA degree in International Economic Relations and International Organizations while also working at the Israeli Foreign Trade Administration as a Trade Researcher and Analyst.
Yasmin’s main responsibilities at the Israeli Economic Mission to the OECD, are Digital Economy and Consumer Protection. She has coached the Hebrew University’s Model United Nations team and has experience in teaching English and content writing. In her free time, she enjoys musicals, Eurovision, learning new languages and playing the piano.
