Ramallah: The Palestinian government is capable and ready to set up an independent Palestinian state by September, said an official statement of the Palestinian Authority (PA) issued on Monday.
Dr Ali Al Jirbawi, the Palestinian Minister of Planning and Administrative Development, said in the statement that the PA was fully prepared to set up the independent state of Palestine within September, the scheduled time period set at the United Nations.
He said the PA has reduced its dependence on financial aid coming from donors and will submit a report to the AHLC (Ad Hoc Liaison Committee) in Brussels next Wednesday detailing its state of readiness to set up an independent state.
Dr Al Jarbawi said the PA's dependence on financial aid is down by 35 per cent since 2009. The authority has reduced its expenses and improved its money-recovery techniques. In 2010, the national income of the PA reached $2 billion (Dh7.34 billion) for the first time in Palestinian history.
The report submitted by the PA to the Donors Council has stressed it will be able to sustain a development rate of nine per cent from 2011, Dr Al Jarbawi said.
The PA has successfully carried out several infrastructural projects apart from reducing its expenses, he added, and the authority has allocated a part of its budget to supporting and enhancing the lives of Palestinians in critical areas.
