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Norway, EU hold donors' meeting for Palestine

BRUSSELS, Feb 23 (KUNA) -- Norwegian foreign minister Eriksen Soreide Tuesday chaired the virtual meeting of the International Donor Group for Palestine (AHLC). EU High Representative Josep Borrell co-hosted the meeting.
The Palestinian delegation was headed by Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh and Finance Minister Shukri Bishara, said a Norwegian foreign ministry press release this evening.
"Although the Palestinians are still facing major challenges, I am cautiously optimistic after the meeting today" said Soreide.
"The parties are cooperating on health, security, and economic development in Palestine. Still, there is a long way to go before a political solution to the conflict can be achieved," she said.
The Palestinian economy deteriorated significantly in 2020. The donors present at the meeting today agreed on a set of recommendations to stabilize and strengthen the Palestinian economy, she noted.
"There is a need to increase donor support to Palestine, as payments have been low in recent years. At the same time, the two parties must reach agreement on ways to strengthen the Palestinian economy and increase revenues to the Palestinian Authority," said Soreide.
According to an EU press release, alongside Israel and Palestine, twenty-seven donor countries and international organizations participated with a common determination to stabilize and strengthen the Palestinian economy and institutions and improve the situation in Gaza.
The meeting also addressed the challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the deteriorating situation on the ground.
In his intervention, Borrell noted that the AHLC this year took place "in a more favorable political context with normalization agreements between Israel and some Arab states, resumed cooperation between Israel and the Palestinians, a new US administration in place in Washington, and national elections scheduled in Palestine".
He encouraged the two parties to build on this momentum to take political and technical steps to rebuild trust, and to refrain from unilateral actions that increase tensions and undermine the two-state solution.
The EU foreign policy chief said that the EU, as Palestine's most important and donor, will continue to firmly support a political process towards a democratic, viable and contiguous Palestinian State. (end) nk.mb