Ramallah - The Palestinian Trade Center - PalTrade and the European Union signed today, Thursday, in Ramallah, a three-year project aimed at supporting the private sector in Palestine with funding amounting to 3 million euros. This funding comes within the framework of the European Union's efforts and commitment to support the Palestinians and enhance opportunities for stability and prosperity in the region to achieve sustainable development The project, which is scheduled to start implementation next month of this year, includes an integrated program to enhance the economic infrastructure and support emerging, medium and small companies in Palestine, with the aim of enhancing economic growth, providing job opportunities and developing the capabilities of the private sector. This will be done through a number of activities that the center will implement, which will contribute to developing the commercial information unit in the center, which is dedicated to serving the private sector and its exports, develop ing a center for storing and distributing Palestinian products to European markets, in addition to implementing a package of activities dedicated to supporting Palestinian exporting companies in the Palestinian private sector. 'We are proud to sign and launch the project with PalTrade today, which offers a comprehensive approach to promoting sustainable economic development in Palestine. We focus on key Palestinian economic sectors that have the potential to stimulate trade, growth and job creation in Palestine. The EU is working closely with Member States - particularly the Netherlands, France, Belgium and Sweden - as part of the Team Europe initiative to pool efforts and resources to further develop trade flows with Europe. The EU stands firmly by the Palestinian people. By promoting economic opportunities and job creation, we are contributing to building a more resilient society and working towards the establishment of a future independent Palestinian state,' said Ibrahim Al-Afia, EU Director for Cooperat ion, at the signing ceremony. Minister of Economy Mohammad Al-Amour said that this project is an important opportunity to strengthen the economy and push the wheel of Palestinian production forward, as it comes as a continuation of a series of programs and projects provided by the European Union to Palestine, including (EU 4 Business), which is implemented in cooperation with the Ministry of Economy, as the two sides worked together to facilitate exports, especially via the King Hussein Bridge. He stressed the importance of this project to support Palestinian exports, as it comes at a critical time in light of the war, high unemployment rates, and a decline in the economy and GDP. He stressed the government's commitment to opening new markets for Palestinian exports and products, and strengthening relations with regional and global markets. In the same context, Minister of Industry Arafat Asfour stressed the importance of this project, as it represents an excellent opportunity for exporting to the European Union, and as it comes through a direct contract between a national institution, "Pal Trade", and the European Union, which reflects the growing confidence in national institutions and the Palestinian private sector. He added that the project will work to qualify and support 30 emerging and medium-sized companies until they have the ability to export. He added that the private sector is the main driver of employment, and must play its role and right in many policies. Therefore, the government has a real direction to enable the private sector to play its role in formulating economic and trade policies. For his part, Chairman of the Board of Directors of PalTrade, Ibrahim Barham, praised the vital role of the European Union in supporting the Palestinian economy, stressing that this funding will contribute significantly to enhancing the capabilities of the private sector, which will contribute to the sustainability of Palestinian exports. He thanked the European Union for its confidence in financing a project with direct support from PalTrade. The CEO of the Foundation, Rawaa Jaber, added that this project, with the direct support of the European Union, will have positive results that will contribute to supporting the private sector and developing the Palestinian economy in a sustainable manner. Jaber expressed her great optimism about this program, noting that it will open new horizons for international economic cooperation Given the importance of this step, both parties look forward to starting the actual implementation of the project at the beginning of next month of this year, hoping that these collective efforts will achieve positive and clear results on the land of Palestine. Source: Maan News Agency