Commission to co-sponsor Palestinian Donors Conference and announces €436 million ($554 million) to the Palestinians for 2009

Benita Ferrero-Waldner, European Commissioner for External Relations and Neighbourhood Policy, will pledge on 2 March in Sharm El Sheikh (Egypt) €436 million ($554 million) to the Palestinian people for 2009 at the 'Conference in Support of the Palestinian Economy for the Reconstruction of Gaza'. The Conference, co-chaired by Egypt and Norway, will also be attended by the other members of the Quartet for the Middle East Peace Process: United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, US Secretary of State Clinton, Russia Foreign Minister Lavrov, EU HRSG Solana and Czech Foreign Minister Schwarzenberg; and representatives of all international donors to the Palestinians. The Commission’s pledge will be dedicated to humanitarian aid and early recovery of the Gaza Strip. It will also continue supporting the Palestinian Authority in the implementation of the overall Palestinian Reform and Development Plan as well as UNRWA’s programmes for the benefit of the Palestine Refugees. Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner and Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Fayyad will also offer to all donors the PEGASE mechanism to channel their assistance to Gaza.

• Primary Source

European Commission: MEMO/09/88: The EU in the Middle East Peace Process http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/09/88&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

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