عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Ramallah Hosts Palestinian-US Economic Dialogue

Activists wave a Palestinian flag outside the White House during a memorial for Palestinians who have died during the past year of Israeli-Palestinian violence, in Washington, US, June 5, 2021. REUTERS/Erin Scott/File Photo
Activists wave a Palestinian flag outside the White House during a memorial for Palestinians who have died during the past year of Israeli-Palestinian violence, in Washington, US, June 5, 2021. REUTERS/Erin Scott/File Photo
TT
TT

Ramallah Hosts Palestinian-US Economic Dialogue

Activists wave a Palestinian flag outside the White House during a memorial for Palestinians who have died during the past year of Israeli-Palestinian violence, in Washington, US, June 5, 2021. REUTERS/Erin Scott/File Photo
Activists wave a Palestinian flag outside the White House during a memorial for Palestinians who have died during the past year of Israeli-Palestinian violence, in Washington, US, June 5, 2021. REUTERS/Erin Scott/File Photo

The Palestinian and US governments on Sunday announced the start of the US-Palestinian Economic Dialogue (USPED) to discuss current and future areas of economic cooperation.

The dialogue is scheduled to kick off on Monday. It is the fourth organized by the two sides since 2004 and the second under the current US administration.

USPED was interrupted under the Trump administration and then resumed in 2021 for the first time in five years.

A joint statement by the Palestinian and US governments said the economic dialogue is launched in light of US President Joe Biden’s commitment to achieving a two-state solution, including the existence of an independent, sovereign, and geographically connected state of Palestine, with freedom, security and prosperity for all.

USPED sessions will be chaired by Minister of National Economy Khaled al-Osaily on the Palestinian side, and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs at the State Department, Whitney Baird on the US side.

This senior-level dialogue will also bring together a wide range of agencies and ministries from the two governments.

Participants will discuss several crucial issues to advance the economic prosperity of the Palestinian people, increase the dynamism of the productive sectors, especially trade, industry, renewable energy, and financial issues.

They will also review the implementation of previous discussed key topics, including infrastructure development, access to US markets, US regulations, free trade, financial issues, renewable energy and environmental initiatives, connecting Palestinian and American businesses, and addressing obstacles to Palestinian economic development.

This year, the Palestinian government is going through its worst financial crisis since the establishment of the Palestinian Authority due to precipitous decline in foreign aid, Israel’s ongoing deduction of tax revenues, and the repercussions of confronting the COVID-19 pandemic.

In April 2021, Washington announced the Biden Administration's plan to resume various forms of aid to the Palestinians.

The administration provided more than $890 million in aid to the Palestinian people, including humanitarian aid and through UNRWA support.

As for the volume of trade exchange between Palestine and the US, it amounts to about $100 million.

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

12 Tunisian Migrants Dead, 29 Others Rescued as Boat Sinks Off Tunisia

A Red Cross volunteer transfers two migrants to a tent to be attended after disembarking from a Spanish coast guard vessel, in the port of Arguineguin, on the island of Gran Canaria, Spain, April 4, 2024. REUTERS/Borja Suarez
A Red Cross volunteer transfers two migrants to a tent to be attended after disembarking from a Spanish coast guard vessel, in the port of Arguineguin, on the island of Gran Canaria, Spain, April 4, 2024. REUTERS/Borja Suarez
TT
TT

12 Tunisian Migrants Dead, 29 Others Rescued as Boat Sinks Off Tunisia

A Red Cross volunteer transfers two migrants to a tent to be attended after disembarking from a Spanish coast guard vessel, in the port of Arguineguin, on the island of Gran Canaria, Spain, April 4, 2024. REUTERS/Borja Suarez
A Red Cross volunteer transfers two migrants to a tent to be attended after disembarking from a Spanish coast guard vessel, in the port of Arguineguin, on the island of Gran Canaria, Spain, April 4, 2024. REUTERS/Borja Suarez

At least 12 Tunisians were found dead and 29 others were rescued after a migrant boat capsized off the coast of the southeastern island of Djerba on Monday, a judicial official said, according to AFP.

“Twelve bodies were recovered and 29 people were rescued after their boat sank at dawn on Monday,” Medenine court spokesman Fethi Baccouche said, adding that five men and four women were among the dead, and that the cause of the sinking remained unknown.

Baccouche said the search for the missing, the number of whom was not specified, is still underway.

The boat set sail from the island of Djerba, he noted, adding that an investigation has been launched to determine the causes of death.

The Tunisian National Guard said it was alerted by four migrants who swam back ashore.

Most of the migrants were Tunisian nationals, accompanied by two foreign migrants.

Tunisia and neighboring Libya have become key departure points for migrants seeking better lives in Europe, often risking dangerous Mediterranean crossings.

Each year, tens of thousands of people attempt to make the crossing, with Italy — whose Lampedusa island is only 150 km away — often their first port of call.

Last Wednesday, Tunisian authorities announced that the bodies of 13 irregular migrants of African descent had been recovered off the coast of the city of Mahdia in the eastern part of the country.

More than 1,300 people died or disappeared last year in shipwrecks off Tunisia, according to the rights group Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights.

Since January 1 until mid-May, at least 103 makeshift boats have capsized off Tunisia's coast, the country’s interior ministry said.

During the first four months of this year, the ministry said it saved and prevented 21,545 migrants from crossing the sea to Europe, an increase of approximately 22.5% year-on-year.

The International Organization for Migration has said more than 30,309 migrants have died in the Mediterranean in the past decade, including more than 3,000 last year.