BELGIAN ASSISTANCE TO PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY AFTER

C O N F I D E N T I A L BRUSSELS 000420 SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR/WE AND NEA/IPA:ALENZ E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/11/2019 TAGS: EFIN KPAL KWBG PGOV PHUM PTER EUN BE SUBJECT: BELGIAN ASSISTANCE TO PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY AFTER SHARM AL-SHEIK CONFERENCE REF: STATE 20388 Classified By: Acting Political Economic Counselor Robert Kiene, reason 1.4(b) and (d). 1.(C) Post delivered reftel demarche and receivedthe following information on March 6 from Arnult Pauwels, Desk Officer for Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Lebanon and Syria. Pauwels says that Minister of Foreign Affairs Karel De Gucht promised USD 6 million at Sharm Al-Sheik in addition to the USD 44 million Belgium has already budgeted in assistance to the Palestinian Authority in 2009, for a total of USD 50 million in 2009. The money will go toward expanding existing bilateral projects, supporting NGO's and UN institutions (UNRWA, World Food Program). Pauwels said that more details may be available in about one month. ¶2. (C) The Belgian Directorate General for Development Cooperation has posted on its website a copy of an Indicative Cooperation Program agreement between the Palestinian Authority and the Kingdom of Belgium, signed by the two parties on March 4, 2008. That agreement provides for grants of 50 million euros for the period 2008-2011. The program's areas of concentration are education and "consolidation of society/support to local government." Belgian bilateral official development assistance to the Palestinian Authority ranged from 10.7 million euros to 15.3 million euros per year from 2003-2007. These figures do not include amounts paid through multilateral organizations such as UNRWA and WFP. BUSH .