RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories — Turkey’s
top diplomat announced Tuesday a raft of new agreements to bolster the
struggling
Palestinian economy, during the first high-level Turkish visit to
the Israeli-occupied West Bank in 15 years.
اضافة اعلان
During Foreign Minister
Mevlut Cavusoglu’s trip to
Ramallah, Turkey signed nine new pacts with the Palestinian Authority, ranging
from agriculture to education and trade.
Cavusoglu will meet Israeli officials on Wednesday,
the latest step in a diplomatic thaw between Ankara and Israel. He will also
make a private visit to the Al-Asqa mosque compound in Israeli-annexed east
Jerusalem.
Alongside his Palestinian counterpart
Riyad al-Maliki, Cavusoglu pledged to push ahead with plans for the construction of
an industrial zone in the Palestinian territories. “The necessary order has
been given; there is no luxury for evading and delaying this project,” he said,
also setting a $2 billion annual bilateral trade target and pledging more
scholarships for Palestinians to study in Turkey.
The World Bank warned this month that the
Palestinian economy was in a “precarious” state, with the cash-strapped
Palestinian Authority — a major West Bank employer — only paying partial wages
since November.
Maliki described Cavusoglu’s visit as “historic” and
reflecting the “special relationship between the two countries”.
Turkey has
long been a vocal supporter of the Palestinian cause, but visits to the
West Bank had been obstructed by a 15-year diplomatic rupture between Ankara and
Israel.
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