The Third Ministerial-Level Meeting of the Four-Party Consultative Unit for the “Corridor for Peace and Prosperity”

July 2, 2008

On Wednesday 2 July from 17:30 for approximately 45 minutes, Mr. Masahiko Koumura, Minister for Foreign Affairs, chaired The Third Ministerial-Level Meeting of the Four-Party Consultative Unit for the “Corridor for Peace and Prosperity,” with the attendance of Dr. Samir Abdullah, Minister of Planning of the Palestinian National Authority, Mr. Gideon Ezra, Minister of Environment Protection of Israel, and Mr. Salaheddin Al-Bashir, Foreign Minister of Jordan.
At the outset, Mr. Koumura stated that for the realization of peace in the Middle East, it was crucial to establish a Palestinian state, living in co-existence and co-prosperity with Israel, and to develop the viable Palestinian economy. He stressed that the development of an agro-industrial park to be established in accordance with the “Corridor for Peace and Prosperity” initiative could contribute to Palestinian economic development. He confirmed the developments made so far in this initiative and anticipated that the Aglo-Industrial Park could create 6,000 job opportunities for the Palestinians at its maximum possible capacity, attaching the importance to attract private sector investment to the development of the park.
In response, Dr. Abdullah stated that this initiative, playing a major role in developing and expanding the Palestinian economy, especially in the Jordan Valley, was expected to cause stimulus effect which would have far-reaching economic impact on the Palestinian economy. He stressed the importance of the successful engagement of private companies by ensuring access and movement of people and goods.
  Then Mr. Ezra stated that the vision of two states for two people could and must become a reality and stressed that as building the foundations of an independent Palestinian economy was a crucial ingredient in building the foundations of peace and prosperity so well reflected in the name of the initiative, and Israel would render all support.
  Mr. Al-Bashir stated that the “Corridor” initiative came from Japan’s great knowledge and experience to enhance the development and prosperity of East and South East Asia region, and the initiative would provide a very much needed model at a time when not only peace and security but also the improvement of life conditions and prosperity were urgently needed. These three ministers highly appreciated the role that Japan had been playing in the Middle East peace process, and expressed strong political commitment to the promotion of this initiative.
  Following their remarks, Mr. Seiichi Nagatsuka, Vice President of JICA, gave a brief explanation of the feasibility study conducted by JICA for the development of the agro-industrial park.
The Four parties agreed to issue a press statement containing their common recognition of the past development and future outlook as the outcome of this Ministerial Meeting. The major points are as follows:

(1) The Four Parties agreed that the site of the planned Agro-Industrial Park will be started in Area A in Jericho, with the possible extension to adjacent Area in the future.

(2) The Four Parties confirmed that the F/S will be completed in November 2008, and projects to develop the basic infrastructure which benefits the Palestinian people will move into the implementation stage as early as possible in 2009.

(3) Mr. Koumura expressed Japan’s readiness to extend its Official Development Assistance (ODA) for those projects as appropriate upon a decision to be made among the Four Parties on the grand design of the Park.

(4) The Four Parties have been discussing possible access routes from the site to Jordan with full consideration to economic efficiencies as well as security concerns.

In closing, Mr. Koumura quoted his speech made in Ramallah during his visit to the Palestinian territories in January 1999, stating that the prosperity of the region required the “Corridor of Peace” beyond the border, which enabled free traffic of people and goods, and what materialized the Corridor of Peace was the “Corridor of Spirit”, nourished by the spirit of dialogue to connect people’s hearts. He expressed his satisfaction of seeing his above mentioned idea being materialized in this way and that Japan would steadily implement the “Corridor” initiative on the basis of the spirit of “dialog” and contribute to confidence building among parties concerned with the peace process. The three minister expressed their gratitude for Japan’s efforts to realize Middle East peace.
After the meeting, Mr. Koumura held a reception and announced the above-mentioned press statement at the outset. The three visiting ministers then again expressed their gratitude for Japan’s strong will and efforts to promote this initiative and to realize peace in the Middle East.

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