2007 Programs and Events`
President Bush Sets Economic Development Effort for Palestinians
“There is a hopeful future.. where peace is possible” Bush says
December 3, 2007
The president’s announcement followed successful November talks held in Annapolis, Maryland, at which Israeli and Palestinian officials agreed to pursue direct negotiations, supported by the United States, with the aim of establishing a Palestinian state. (See related article.)
Bush spoke at the White House December 3 about the need for economic initiatives to aid Palestinians, especially Palestinian youth, as the parties relaunch the peace process. (See related transcript.)
After welcoming Tahani Abu Daqqa, minister of youth for the Palestinian Authority, Bush said, “One of the things that interests me a lot is the fact that we are going to help the Palestinians develop youth centers, places where young Palestinians can come and learn new technical skills, or language skills, or have mentoring programs -- all aimed at saying, there is a hopeful future … a future where peace is possible.”
Earlier in the day, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke to the Aspen Institute’s Middle East Strategy Group, the government’s nonprofit partner in the effort to create jobs and economic activity in Palestinian areas.
Rice said there must be a strong economic component of the two-state solution, which envisions Israelis and Palestinians “living in two democratic states, side-by-side, in peace and security.” She cited Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad’s work with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair to organize a December 17 donors’ conference in Paris, at which the international community will commit to helping the Palestinian government and people. Rice said the Bush administration will ask Congress for $400 million in economic support for Palestinians for the next fiscal year.
Rice also said such international donations will be needed to support the Palestinian government’s budgets for a time and to provide an atmosphere in which a stronger private sector can emerge.
The partnership hopes to quickly develop call centers that would generate jobs. At brainstorming sessions December 3 at the Aspen Institute, which took place before and after Rice’s speech, business people also spoke of mortgage-backed housing programs that could generate profits.
“Imagine a sign that says, you know, ’We need 500 workers’ … ‘We need 1,000 workers,’” Rice said, underscoring the job-creation goals of the partnership.
This partnership’s focus on economic development will build on a program announced in Ramallah in July, a small-business loan fund of $228 million. Loans from that program will be awarded in coming weeks and are expected to be a real economic force for Palestinian business growth, according to officials.
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