Mister President, dear Secretary General, Excellencies, distinguished Delegates,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States. We take note of the Secretariat’s report on UNCTAD Assistance to the Palestinian people and the economic and social indicators it contains.

We note the economic rebound registered in 2021, but also the regional divergences of the rebound and the continuous negative trends in the agricultural sector. This observed developments in the agricultural sector, paired with, as the report highlights, the negative spillovers of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, pose a serious risk of food insecurity in the occupied Palestinian territory.

The occupied Palestinian territory has a strong agricultural potential. The settlement expansions and restrictions on Palestinian movement seriously limit this potential. To support Palestinian farmers and agro-businesses, the EU and its Member States recently committed €10.5 million to help Palestinian farmers and agro-businesses in Gaza Strip to relaunch, repair or replace damaged businesses affected by the conflict.

We are also happy to note, as per the report, the success of the COVID-19 vaccination campaigns that allowed for gradual ease of restrictions. The EU continues to support partner countries in this ongoing health crisis. Indeed, just two months back, the EU provided €20 million to support the Palestinian COVID-19 vaccination campaign through the reimbursement of vaccine purchase costs. Moreover, the EU and its Member States made a contribution of €15.7 million to the Palestinian Authority in support of East Jerusalem hospitals.

These are only some examples of our actions that help ease the precarious fiscal situation facing the Palestinian Authority. In fact, just before the summer break, the EU renewed its support for the Palestinian people with a €224.8 million assistance package. This package includes support to the Palestinian Authority in the payments of the salaries and pensions of civil servants, social allowances to vulnerable families and allocations for private sector development, two major infrastructure projects in Gaza, namely a gas pipeline and a central desalination plant related works, and an allocation for promoting gender responsive policies, among other things.

The EU foresees to provide up to €1.152 billion in financial support from 2021 to 2024 – a considerable figure when contrasted against the total aid in 2021 or the overall public debt quoted by the UNCTAD report. This commitment comes at a tough period, with the Palestinian Authority continuing to face severe fiscal challenges, as highlighted by the report. In this context, we have called on the Israeli authorities to respect their obligations under the Paris Protocol with regard to the transfer of Palestinian tax revenues. And we have also been engaged with the Palestinian Authority to implement major reforms to ensure medium term fiscal sustainability.

However, to ensure that the economy embarks on a sustainable path, the role of the private sector is crucial. To this end, the EU and the Palestinian Authority established an Investment Platform to attract investment through mobilisation of additional public, institutional and private financing. Since the launch of the Platform in December 2020, three high-level meetings were convened, as well as various promotion events. Earlier this year, the first edition of the EU-Palestine Investment Review was issued, detailing and analysing all Team Europe investment projects in Palestine. The Review confirms an important step-up of European investments, with 60% of the €1.63 billion Team Europe’s investments being committed in the last two years.

As demonstrated through this handful of examples, the European Union and its Member States continue to be a committed and reliable partner to the Palestinian people.

We also note the brief description in UNCTAD’s report of the activities carried out by UNCTAD in assistance to the Palestinian people. We would, however, appreciate, if the future reports intended for this agenda item of the Trade and Development Board would focus on such UNCTAD activities, in line with the agreed title in the agenda.

Thank you.