The Minister of state of Saudi Arabia for economic Affairs Muhammad al-Sheikh, speaking on June 26 at the Bahrain conference, said that the proposed United States program for economic development of the Palestinian territories has all chances for success.
“It includes the private sector, which is very important. But this will be possible only if people believe that this is possible. You need to prove to them that economic development is a long term that it will bring prosperity,” he said.
The head of the International monetary Fund Christine Lagarde said another important condition: there must be economic development of the Palestinian territories led to the creation of new jobs. “Development of construction industry, tourism, agriculture meets that condition,” she said.
The economic component of the plan of the Palestinian-Israeli settlement was introduced by the US presidential Advisor Jared Kushner in the evening of 25 June. “Over time, you can double the annual Palestinian GDP, create millions of jobs, to reduce poverty and unemployment by 50%,” he said.
“In this room people are not afraid of challenges and ready to take personal part in the completion of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. For too long the opinion of the Palestinian people was directed to the past. From meeting to meeting, I hear again and again explaining why progress is impossible”, – said the American emissary.
“Economic development and prosperity of the Palestinian people is impossible without a just solution to the conflict that would guarantee security for Israel and respect for the Palestinians. But in recent years they have become a people who depend on donations and economic aid,” he added.
Jared Kushner said that after examining those changes, which led to the prosperity of Singapore, South Korea, Peru, China and the United States, was composed of detailed, comprehensive economic plan for the development of the Palestinian territories. He noted that this plan is unique to the entire region.
Going to the plan, Kouchner noted that it consists of several points. The first realization of the economic potential of Palestinians and the region by creating necessary infrastructure in Gaza, encourage the private sector and creating linkages and regional integration.
The second is the empowerment of the Palestinian people, the creation of new jobs, improving education, attracting investment in healthcare and raising living standards.
The third is the empowerment of the Palestinian government through the creation of a business environment, the strengthening of local authorities and fight against corruption.
The cost of the program calculated for ten years, is estimated at $ 50 billion, of which 13 billion is grants and 25 billion – subsidized loans, 11 billion is private capital.
28 billion will be invested in the development of the economy of the Palestinian authority and the Gaza strip, 7.5 billion will be transferred to Jordan, 9 billion to Egypt and six billion to Lebanon. Lebanon has refused this amount, demanding the return of the refugees in the Palestinian territory.
Recall that the conference is attended by delegations from many Arab countries, particularly Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Jordan. The Palestinian authority refused to participate in this forum and rejected the “deal of the century” even before its publication, however, the conference was attended by some businessmen from PA.
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