By NNN-KUNA
Amman : The conference at Annapolis afforded a propitious opportunity for relaunching the Mideast peace process whose momentum ought to be kept alive, said Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas on Friday.
He hoped that the year 2008 would witness an Israeli-Palestinian accord that would be the basis for the establishment of a Palestinian state.
He was talking to reporters at a signing ceremony of a memorandum of understanding whereby a USD 200 million residential and commercial complex would be built in the city of Ramalla by mostly Arab investors.
Abbas noted that the upcoming conference which will be held in Paris, France, with the participation of 90 states seeking to offer economic support to the Palestine Authority “should translate that verbal support into concrete reality on the ground.”
The memorandum was signed by Land Holding Co. (a subsidiary of al-Rajhi Group of Saudi Arabia) and the Palestinian Investment Fund to carry out infrastructure projects in Ramalla, among them the USD 200 million complex. Abbas said that today’s signing ceremony reflected Arab and Islamic keenness on giving total support to the Palestinian people.
“Creating partnerships with Arab investors and our friends around the world bolsters the Palestinian economy which needs a strong push to get ahead, having for so long been abused by the policies and constraints of Israel,” Abbas said.
On his part, president of Land Holding Co. Saeed Bahjat expressed satisfaction with having to pursue real estate investment projects on Palestinian soil, hoping that would create jobs and energize the local economy.
The Saudi subsidiary was founded in 2003 and specializes in developing huge real estate projects, some of which it has carried out in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Bahrain, and Jordan.
As for its partner in the Ramalla project – the Palestine Investment Fund, it started in business in 2003 as an independent investment company whose objective was to handle invesment projects within the Palestinian territories. It is headquartered in the city of Ramalla.