Palestinian Foreign Minister, Riyadh Al Maliky, and his French counterpart, Bernard Kouchner, signed on Tuesday an agreement in which France agrees to donate 200 Million Euros to support Palestinian development projects in the coming three years. The two officials also signed a deal for diplomatic and political cooperation between the two countries, in addition to singing a deal granting the Palestinian Authority with 1.5 Million Euros.
Following the signing of the deal, Kouchner said that despite the failures since the Annapolis conference, efforts to resume the peace process must continue.
He also saluted the Palestinian Prime Minister, Dr. Salaam Fayyad, for preparing a plan to develop the Palestinian Authority institutions.
Kouchner added that the current situation must change to enable the resumption of Palestinian-Israeli peace talks, and that more action is needed to reach the ultimate goal of establishing an independent Palestinian state.
On his side, Al Maliky said that France and the Palestinian Authority have strong relations and that France is committed to the establishment of the Palestinian State in cooperation with the European Union and the International Community.
He added that the Palestinian Authority is not placing any preconditions for the resumption of peace talks, but Israel must be committed to the signed peace deals and agreements, including stopping all settlement activities in the West Bank and in East Jerusalem.
