Fayyad to Attend Ad Hoc Liaison Committee Meeting in New York

RAMALLAH, September 18, 2011 (WAFA) – Prime Minister Salam Fayyad will attend the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC) meeting in New York on Sunday, in an effort to rally international support for the Palestinian bid to gain full United Nations membership of a Palestinian state based on 1967 borders later this month, said a Palestinian official.

Government spokesman Ghassan Khatib said Fayyad will present his report on behalf of the Palestinian Authority to the AHLC, a forum of donors to the PA, stressing that the PA has completed building state institutions and is ready for independence, which will generate political momentum for the Palestinian bid.

The International Bank, International Monetary Fund and UN will present reports to the AHLC as well, which reiterate the PA’s report on the readiness of Palestinian state institutions to turn into a sustainable government only if the Israeli occupation ends, noted Khatib.

“It [the donors committee] will discuss the PA’s financial crisis on the meeting’s sidelines, of course, but it will focus more on the political aspects,” he added.

The latest World Bank report said that the PA has made substantial progress in implementing its institution-building agenda but warned that the positive economic growth experienced in the West Bank and Gaza in 2008-2011 was unsustainable and driven primarily by donor aid. It said the private sector is constrained by Israeli restrictions on access to natural resources and markets, while investors are deterred by the increased costs of business due to the closure regime implemented by Israel on the Palestinian Territory.

Palestine News & Info Agency - WAFA