UAE business supports Palestinian initiative

Abu Dhabi: Fifty UAE businessmen have registered to attend Palestine Investment Conference (PIC) from May 21 to 23 in Bethlehem.

The conference, aiming to bridge Palestinian business with the rest of the world through joint investment ventures in the Occupied Territories, will not be only restricted to Arab countries, as investors from the US, Europe, South America, and Asia have already revealed interest.

"Out of the total 300 applications we received so far, 50 are from the UAE. We do not seek giveaways or donation. Rather, we seek business partners, where we find that for every US dollar investment by the foreigner, an equivalent dollar will be invested by the Palestinian counterpart," Dr Hasan Abu Libdeh, PIC's chief executive officer said at a press conference in the capital yesterday.

The event is being promoted by the Palestinian Authority, and was attended by former British prime minister Tony Blair.

Opportunities

"Despite of the obvious political challenges and the weight of the occupation; the message we are delivering here today is that you can do business in Palestine, as we want to present the full picture," Blair said.

"There are already two business parks, one in the North and the other to the South, and there are $500 million presented in mortgage facilities for housing," he added.