Under the auspices and in the presence of Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh, the Palestinian government, represented by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Riyad Malki, and the Spanish government represented by Foreign Minister Arancha González Laya, signed via video conference a memorandum of understanding defining development cooperation between their two countries at a value of 100 million euros for the years 2020-2024, according to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office.
The agreement includes support for the employment sector, especially for youth and women, support for the Palestinian economy, agriculture and water sectors, in addition to support for building the institutions of the Palestinian government with regard to education, health and social protection, support for civil society organizations concerned with human rights and women, and support for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestine refugees in the amount of 5 million euros annually.
The signing of the agreements was attended by the Palestinian Minister of Agriculture Riyad Atari, the Palestinian ambassador to Spain, Kifah Odeh, and the Spanish consul to Palestine Ignacio García-Valdecasas Fernández.
“This agreement signed today, and Spanish support for us, like many countries in the world, constitutes a message to Israel and the United States that the world stands with Palestine and supports it in building its state institutions on the road towards ending the occupation and promoting peace and stability in the region,” said Prime Minister Shtayyeh.
“The sectors covered by the Memorandum of Understanding are important to us at this time because they go in line with the government’s development plans for these sectors,” he said.
Shtayyeh expressed hope that Spain “will lead the European Union and break the de facto situation by recognizing the Palestinian state with its capital, Jerusalem, on the 1967 borders, and imposing sanctions on Israel in light of its annexation plans.”
