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Tokyo: Donors will gather in Tokyo next week to discuss support for the
Palestinian Authority. Among the topics expected at the meeting is
financial aid.
Japan and the Palestinian Authority will co-host the conference,
titled, ”Conference on Cooperation among East Asian Countries for
Palestinian Development,” which will take place on Feb. 14.
Countries in Asia, such as Brunei Darussalam, Thailand, Malaysia,
Indonesia, South Korea, Singapore and Vietnam, are expected to
participate. Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad is also
expected to attend.
The World Bank, the Islamic Development Bank, the United Nations,
the U.N. Relief Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near
East, and members of the Arab League, which pledged $100 million
in December to cover gaps in the Palestinian Authority’s budget,
are also among the prospective participants.
The meeting’s main goal is to garner more support for the
Palestinian Authority, which is still reeling from the effects of
Israel’s freeze on tax transfers in November, after the
Palestinians successfully achieved nonmember observer status at
the United Nations.
The move has left the Palestinian
Authority in dire financial straits, affecting the pay of
government employees and, potentially, the region’s stability and
development.
Participants will also discuss
“effective ways of cooperation” to promote stability and peace in
the Middle East, according to the Japanese Ministry of Foreign
Affairs.
They are expected to pledge
continued support to the Palestinian Authority in terms of grants,
economic aid and other kinds of assistance, NHK World reported.
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