Arab Economic Ministers Stress Continued Support For Palestinians

Arab Ministers of Economy and Trade stressed the need to continue providing the necessary support to the Palestinian economy in order to strengthen the steadfastness of the Palestinian people in the face of the Israeli occupation.

The Arab Economic and Social Council concluded its 104th regular session on Thursday, under the current chairmanship of the Palestinian Minister of National Economy, Khaled Al-Assaily, in the presence of Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit.

The ministers called on Arab councils and organizations to increase support to Palestine and direct part of their programs for the implementation of relief and development projects that would mitigate the effects of the Israeli aggression and help the Palestinians overcome their financial crisis.

They also urged the General Secretariat to resume technical support programs for the least developed countries, including the State of Palestine, asking it to work closely with the Arab and International Labor Organizations and funding institutions to arrange for an international donor conference in the first half of 2020, with the aim of supporting the Employment and Social Protection Fund to alleviate poverty and unemployment rates in Palestine, which have reached unprecedented levels.

The Arab Economy ministers encouraged the Arab private sector to invest in Palestine, and condemned the Israeli exploitation of the Palestinian national resources, “which are an inherited right of the Palestinian people.”

In this regard, they called for the adoption of the necessary measures, in cooperation with the competent western and international institutions and the concerned Palestinian authorities to hold the occupation state accountable for the theft and exploitation of these resources.