After five years of hiatus, Washington and the Palestinian Authority relaunch their economic dialogue
The Biden administration wants to maintain a bilateral relationship with the Palestinians, independent of the Israelis (illustrative image).
© REUTERS / Mohamad Torokman
Text by: RFI Follow
1 min
Tuesday evening, December 14, Washington and the Palestinian Authority relaunched their economic dialogue, a first for five years because these exchanges around economic cooperation had been completely interrupted with the previous US administration under the presidency of Donald Trump.
"
Because the growth of the Palestinian economy will play an essential role towards a negotiated two-state solution, with a viable Palestinian state,
" said Yael Lempert, US Assistant Secretary for Middle East Affairs.
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With our correspondent in Ramallah,
Alice Froussard
At this virtual meeting, US and Palestinian officials discussed new economic cooperation, and the topics were wide: infrastructure development, access to US markets, free trade, financial issues, resolution of obstacles to Palestinian economic development. .
There was also talk of connecting American and Palestinian companies, as well as renewable energies and ecological initiatives.
"Civic and political questions without any impact"
A rare meeting, remarkable, some believe, given the presence of several American officials from different sectors of the federal government.
A meeting that shows a clear will of the Biden administration to maintain a bilateral relationship with the Palestinians, independent of the Israelis, and to normalize and extend this US-Palestinian policy.
But for the Palestinians, and according to a senior official who was present at the meeting, while this discussion marks a shift in the American perspective towards the Palestinians, it does not seek a solution for a better
resolution of the conflict
, focusing “
On civic and political issues without any impact
”.
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Palestinian territories
Israel
Economy
United States