Assistance to the Palestinian people – Letter from Japan

Fifty-third session

Agenda item 39

Question of Palestine

Letter dated 24 November 1998 from the Permanent Representative of Japan to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General 

I have the honour to transmit herewith a statement outlining assistance provided by Japan to the Palestinians, as indicated by our Prime Minister, Keizo Obuchi, at his meeting with President Clinton of the United States of America on 20 November 1998. The content of the document will be formally announced at the Conference to Support Middle East Peace and Development, to be held in Washington, D.C., on 30 November. I should be grateful if the text of the present letter and its annex were circulated as a document of the General Assembly under agenda item 39.

(Signed) Yukio Satoh

Permanent Representative of Japan

to the United Nations

Annex 

Statement outlining assistance provided by Japan to the Palestinians,

dated 20 November 1998 

1. Pledge of $200 million

Prime Minister Obuchi pledged today at the meeting with President Clinton to provide up to $200 million in assistance to the Palestinians for the next two years. Japan has disbursed approximately $372 million since 1993 until today over five years. Japan is one of the largest donors to the Palestinians, along with the United States of America and the European Union.

2. Priority areas of Japan's assistance

Japan's assistance has following four priority areas:

(a) Human resources and social development, in particular in the field of health care, education and humanitarian assistance;

(b) Building of basic infrastructure;

(c) Financial contribution to the start-up cost of the Palestinian Authority;

(d) Employment promotion upon the closure of the West Bank and Gaza.

3.  Channels of assistance

Japan's assistance to date through international organizations such as the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency in the Near East has amounted to approximately $268 million. Japan has implemented 11 projects of direct assistance to the Palestinians, valued at approximately $94 million in total, since the beginning of the financial year 1995.

4.  Technical assistance

Regarding Japan's technical assistance programme, 446 Palestinians have participated to date in the training programmes offered by Japan since 1993. These courses addressed administrative capacity-building and human development in various fields, including environment and education.

5.  Examples of completed and ongoing projects

(a) Employment generation projects

– Environmental reshaping of the Gaza Strip $5 million

– Gaza municipal infrastructure $5 million

– Nablus paving and tiling $2 million

– Agricultural development in Hebron district $4 million

(b) Assistance to the start-up cost for the Palestinian Authority

– Start-up costs for the Palestinian Fire

Authority  $3 million

– Start-up costs for the Palestinian

Administration $7.4 million

(c) Governance- and institution-building of the Palestinian Authority

– Residential housing for the Police Force

in the Gaza Strip $10 million

– Transfer of Knowledge through Expatriate

Nationals (TOKTEN) $1.5 million

– Public administration training for civil

servants $2 million

– Tripartite training programmes at the

training centres in Egypt and Jordan

(d) Basic infrastructure projects

– Upgrading of the Khan Younis water supply

system $4 million

– School extensions in the West Bank $2 million

– Upgrading of the Tulkarem hospital in the

West Bank $4 million

– Building of Jericho stadium $2.5 million

(e) Assistance to Palestinian refugees

– Construction of a new Gaza preparatory

boys school $1 million

– Medical aid expansion in Gaza $0.41 million

(f) Direct assistance

– Improvement of medical equipment in the

Gaza Strip $13 million

– Construction of Jericho hospital $18.6 million

– Construction of school facilities for

basic education in the Gaza Strip $16.3 million

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