Mideast peace process – London Meeting on Supporting the Palestinian Authority – UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office press release/Non-UN document

LONDON MEETING ON SUPPORTING THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY – 1 MARCH 2005

The London Meeting, which will be a one day event on 1 March, is an opportunity for the Palestinian Authority to set out their plans to build up the institutions they will need to underpin a future Palestinian state. It will also be an opportunity for the international community to make clear its support.

The central aim of the London Meeting is to help the Palestinian leadership strengthen the institutions of the Palestinian Authority. In doing so the UK and the international community will work to support Palestinian efforts to prepare for the anticipated Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and parts of the West Bank Strong institutions of governance, a more effective security apparatus and renewed economic development should enable the Palestinian Authority to build on the opportunity of these withdrawals and ensure they deliver real benefits to the Palestinian people.

The UK hopes the London Meeting will be part of a longer-term process of international support for the Palestinians and a contribution to helping both sides return to implementation of the Roadmap, which remains the international community's agreed path towards a lasting negotiated settlement to the Middle East Conflict.

The UK has discussed with the Palestinian Authority and international partners the agenda of the conference. The Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary will chair the meeting. The UK has agreed that the Palestinian Authority will present proposals on state-building and capacity-building in the areas of governance, security and economic development. We anticipate that the international community will respond by offering practical support. We will continue to consult the Palestinians, the Quartet (UN, EU US and Russia) and other international partners in the run-up to the international meeting.

We envisage the meeting having a number of specific outputs including:

The event will be chaired by the Prime Minister, Tony Blair. We are inviting Foreign Ministers or equivalent from the Quartet, G8 and AHLC (Ad-Hoc Liaison Committee) and a number of countries who we know can make an important contribution to helping the Palestinian Authority build its capacity in the areas of governance, security and economic development.

We have also discussed our thinking with Israel. Since the focus of the meeting is on how the international community can help the Palestinian Authority, we and the Israeli government have agreed Israel will not attend.