- The Government of Japan has decided to extend Non-Project Grant Aid of 1.5 billion JPY (\1,500,000,000) to the Palestinian Interim Self-Government Authority (hereinafter referred to as "the Palestinian Authority"). Notes to this effect were exchanged on December 21 (Mon.) (local time: same day) in Ramallah in the West Bank of Jordan River, between Mr. Naofumi Hashimoto, Representative of Japan to the Palestinian Authority, and H.E. Dr. Salam Fayyad, Prime Minister/Minister of Finance, Palestinian Authority.
2. This grant aid aims at promotion of the economic and social development efforts by the Palestinian Authority, and the grant will be used for the purchase of necessary commodities in the Palestinian territories.
3. The Palestinian economy remains in a serious condition, particularly due to the recent considerable decrease of employment opportunities for Palestinians who are still restricted by the Israeli army on move and access in the Palestinian territories, though such restrictions have recently been eased, as well as the destructions of various social and economic infrastructures in the repeated collisions in the Palestinian territories since September 2000. In order to promote the Middle East peace process in this condition, it is imperative to work for stability and improvement of the Palestinian society and its civil life by supporting the efforts of the Palestinian Authority for the social and economic developments.
4. Through this aid, it is expected that the serious financial conditions of the Palestinian Authority will be improved. Furthermore, Japan will be continuously making active efforts to promote political dialogues, confidence-building measures and the "Corridor for Peace and Prosperity" initiative in addition to providing such assistance to the Palestinians toward the realization of co-existence and co-prosperity through the two states solution of Israelis and Palestinians.
(Reference) The Palestinian territories cover a land area of 6,020 square kilometers and has a population of approximately 3.83 million people (2005). Its Gross Domestic Products (GDP) per capita is about 802 USD (2006).