Saudi state minister and member of the Saudi Council of Economic and Development Affairs, Mohammed bin Abdul Malik bin Abdullah Al-AshSheikh, said that the US economic development plan for the Middle East could be successful if it gave people in the region hope that it would bring peace
DOHA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th June, 2019) Saudi state minister and member of the Saudi Council of Economic and Development Affairs, Mohammed bin Abdul Malik bin Abdullah Al-AshSheikh, said that the US economic development plan for the Middle East could be successful if it gave people in the region hope that it would bring peace.
On Tuesday, White House Senior Advisor Jared Kushner presented in Bahrain's capital, Manama, the first phase, the economic portion, of the US plan to achieve Palestinian-Israeli peace. The plan, according to Kushner, seeks to unleash the economic potential of the disputed West Bank and Gaza Strip by promoting $50 billion worth of investment into the region in the next 10 years. Palestinians are actively opposing the deal.
"Jared Kushner's economic plan can be successful, since it includes the private sector, if it gives hope for establishing peace in the region. I believe that this can be done, if people believe that [peace] can be achieved [through it]," Al-AshSheikh said at an economic summit in Bahrain.
Al-AshSheikh added that he believed if people could be convinced of the benefits of Kushner's economic plane, development and prosperity in the region could be achieved.
The economic part of the US "Peace to Prosperity" plan offers solutions to how to double Palestinian gross domestic product over a 10-year period, create over a million of jobs and reduce the poverty rate by 50 percent.
�For decades, Palestinians have sought recognition of their independent state in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. The Israeli government has refused to recognize Palestine as an independent political and diplomatic entity and continues to build settlements in the occupied areas, despite objections from the United Nations.
