Opening Address at the AHLC Meeting in New York, 24 September 2007

Check against delivery

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

It gives me great pleasure to welcome you all to this important meeting of AHLC donors and partners. Let me thank Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for kindly hosting this event.

A special welcome to our friends Palestinian Prime Minister Fayyad and Israel’s Foreign Minister Livni. I also want to extend a warm welcome to all my colleagues and to the senior officials present.

Today’s meeting can and should make a difference in strengthening the positive forces of change. We are very pleased by the international support for this meeting. It was important that the US president expressed his support at an early stage. This reflects great confidence in the parties. The Olmert-Abbas dialogue on core issues has created a new momentum. This meeting should underline our recognition and support for their courage and resolve.

I welcome the steps taken by Israel to transfer Palestinian taxes and revenues and resume the security dialogue with the Palestinian Authority. These are important measures for building confidence.

I would like to commend Prime Minister Fayyad for his efforts to reform the Palestinian public sector. His initiative is crucial to counteract growth in the public sector, which has outstripped the capacity of the Palestinian economy.

External donor financing will still be critical to sustain Palestinian institutions. We should send a strong signal to President Abbas and Prime Minister Fayyad that the international community again stands ready to cooperate fully and directly with the Palestinian Authority.

I welcome the Quartet’s statement of 23 September, which puts strong emphasis on the importance of all countries urgently providing financial support to the Palestinian Authority. I am pleased to announce that Norway shortly will contribute an additional USD 20 million to the Single Treasury Account.

Continued reform of the Palestinian public sector and improved movement and access are vital to stop the downward spiral of the economy. A revival of the Palestinian economy will require not only robust decisions on the part of the Palestinian Authority, but also strong commitment on the part of its Israeli partner.

Our meeting today will set the stage for a broad-based international pledging conference scheduled for December. This conference will provide an opportunity for donors to align their pledges and support with the PA’s budget, development plans and reform programme.

Our partnership with the PA should ensure Palestinian ownership and influence on the donor process. The AHLC members should therefore consider responding to the continued need for immediate budget support.

We need to take advantage of the current momentum. I hope that this meeting will complement plans for a November meeting. We must make active use of all opportunities to improve cooperation, economic development and reforms that are essential to achieve a sustainable Palestinian state and a lasting peace.