Palestine, Russia Sign Road Map On Economic Cooperation, Agriculture, Tourism - Minister

Palestine, Russia Sign Road Map on Economic Cooperation, Agriculture, Tourism - Minister

Palestine and Russia have signed a number of state-to-state and business-to-business agreements, as well as a road map for future cooperation in the economy and specialized professional training, among other areas, Palestinian Economy Minister Khaled al-Osaily said at a press conference on Friday

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd November, 2019) Palestine and Russia have signed a number of state-to-state and business-to-business agreements, as well as a road map for future cooperation in the economy and specialized professional training, among other areas, Palestinian Economy Minister Khaled al-Osaily said at a press conference on Friday.

Al-Osaily is currently in Moscow to attend a session of the Russian-Palestinian Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation. He is accompanied by two delegations one representing the state and the other businesses.

"We held very fruitful negotiations and signed important documents. An agreement was signed between the Ministry of Labour of Palestine and the relevant Ministry of the Russian Federation, an agreement on the training of specialists at ... the center of professional training in Birzeit [University]. This is a very important agreement," al-Osaily said, adding that Moscow also committed to fund several scholarships for Palestinian students.

According to the minister, the agreements were signed between other Russian ministries and their Palestinian counterparts in "different fields."

"A road map for our cooperation in the areas of economics, agriculture, education, transport, health, tourism and etc. was also signed," al-Osaily added.

He described Palestinian-Russian cooperation in the public sector as "very fruitful" and said that the agreements will begin to be implemented "in the coming days." He also commended the pace of b2b cooperation, specifically cooperation driven by the Palestinian businessmen from his delegation and their Russian partners during this visit.

The minister reiterated Palestine's pursuit to enhance trade and investments with Russia. In 2018, bilateral trade totaled over $5 million, almost twice as much as last year, with the largest sectors being metals and agriculture.

Al-Osaily further acknowledged Russia's support for the Birzeit University, which offers Palestinians programs for professional training, and expressed hope that the better-trained labor force would make the Palestinian economy grow faster.