EXCLUSIVE: CEAPAD Seen to Hail Japan’s Palestine Aid Initiative as Successful

June 21, 2018

Bangkok- Japan's peace initiative for the Middle East is likely to be cited as a successful example in a joint statement to be adopted at the upcoming ministerial meeting of the Conference on Cooperation among East Asian Countries for Palestinian Development, or CEAPAD, informed sources said Wednesday.

The Corridor for Peace and Prosperity initiative, aimed at promoting the Palestinian economy's self-sustainability, was proposed in 2006 by then Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.

Under the initiative, Japan has developed a farm product-processing park in Jericho, West Bank, to add values to Palestinian agricultural goods for export.

A draft statement obtained by Jiji Press says that the Jericho Agro-Industrial Park is one of "successful regional cooperation projects."

It also suggests visits by participating ministers at the Japan-led CEAPAD meeting in Bangkok on June 27 to the park and other project sites to "explore effective ways for future cooperation."

CEAPAD was established in 2013 to help promote Middle East peace through a "two-nation" solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It comprises Japan and the Palestinian Authority, as well as other Asian countries including South Korea and international organizations such as the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, or the UNRWA. Jiji Press