Announce EUR 42 million funding agreement for Northeast Ramallah wastewater treatment plant

Ramallah – Prime Minister’s Office – Prime Minister Dr. Mohammed Mustafa, together with the EC Director General for the Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations, Gert Jan Koopman, and the Vice President of the European Investment Bank, Gelsomina Vigliotti, launched the 6^th meeting of the European Union – Palestine Investment Platform, which was held at the Prime Minister’s Office in Ramallah, and attended by representatives of Palestinian and European public institutions, including several ministers, representatives of the Palestinian private sector, and European consuls and ambassadors.

“On behalf of the President and the government, we appreciate the continuous support of the European Union,” said Mustafa during the meeting. “We value the courageous steps taken by many EU member states in recognizing the State of Palestine, and we hope that many more countries will join these efforts,” he continued.

Additionally, Mustafa addressed the great challenges that the Palestinian people are currently facing, represented by the war on Gaza, the illegal Israeli deductions and withholding of the Palestinian tax revenues; as well as attacks by the Israeli settlers on the Palestinian people in the West Bank; urging that these measures need to stop soon. “We count on the EU and other partners to make the necessary political and economic pressures, and use their leverages where ever possible to ensure Israel's adherence to the signed agreements,” he asserted.

Prime Minister further emphasized the illegitimacy of Israel's withholding of Palestinian tax funds, which are collected by Israel based on signed international agreements. “When these funds are not transferred to us, it means that Israel is in violation of international agreements,” Mustafa stressed, hoping that “the international community will act swiftly to put an end to this.”

During his remarks, Mustafa announced that the government is preparing a comprehensive post-war rehabilitation plan for Gaza, expressing readiness to fully assume responsibilities once a ceasefire and a political agreement are reached.

Furthermore, he said that the government has already started implementing a comprehensive and fundamental reform program; asserting that it has executed the first set of reforms in the first month since our government assumed office, and will continue with another set of reforms by the end of this year, followed by more reforms next year.

“This meeting is of great importance as we review our partnership with EU institutions and explore ways to scale up investments by EU institutions and firms in Palestine, support the private sector and strengthen our banking sector,” stated Mustafa; asserting that “this will revitalize our economy, create the much-needed jobs for our people, and increase our tax base, enabling us to finance essential social and economic infrastructure and services for our people.”

The Prime Minister also stated, “In addition to comprehensive reforms, we are launching several national initiatives as part of our reform and development efforts to strengthen the foundations of the Palestinian national economy in partnership with the private sector and civil society. Among these initiatives, the first is social protection, through reviewing the social protection system. The second is the healthcare uplift initiative by localizing medical services and reconsidering the external medical referral system. The third initiative focuses on digital transformation to develop services and ensure access for a larger number of citizens, offering significant partnership opportunities with the private sector.”

“The fourth initiative,” Mustafa continued, “focuses on renewable and alternative energy to reduce dependence on energy from Israel, develop domestic networks, and reduce the net lending. As for the fifth initiative, it centers around economic empowerment, and the importance of job creation and reducing unemployment rates, particularly following their rise during the Israeli aggression on the Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank, where over 600,000 Palestinians lost their jobs as a result.”

On his part, Gert Jan Koopman, EC Director General for the Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations and Enlargement Negotiations, stated, “We will continue to support the Palestinian government amidst the challenging circumstances it faces, and the reform steps announced by the Prime Minister during his meeting in Brussels with donors,” emphasizing the importance of partnership with the Palestinian private sector to develop and bolster the economy, enhance business sectors, and promote initiatives.”

For her part, EIB Vice President, Gelsomina Vigliotti, emphasized the importance of the Investment Platform meeting in fostering mutual cooperation, development, and investment. She highlighted that the European Investment Bank works with the Palestinian government and the private sector in various fields to develop the business sector, and upgrade the transport networks of water and wastewater infrastructures, with the goal of creating job opportunities and improving living conditions for the Palestinian people.

On the margins of the meeting, the EU, the EIB, and the Palestinian Water Authority signed an EUR 42 million agreement to construct the northeast Ramallah wastewater treatment plant. The funding includes approximately EUR 22.3 million as a grant from the EU and EUR 19.9 million as a loan from the EIB.

The European Union – Palestine Investment Platform (Platform) is a collaborative initiative between the EU and Palestine. It was established with the aim of fostering policy dialogue and investment. It serves as a platform to identify, prioritise, coordinate and promote investment opportunities offered by the EU External Investment Plan, together with its European Fund for Sustainable Development. A key objective of the Platform is to better attract investments into Palestine by mobilising additional public, institutional and private financing, contributing to Palestine’s policy and reform priorities.