London Meeting on Supporting the Palestinian Authority – Opening remarks by Tony Blair – UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office press release/Non-UN document

I'd like obviously, particularly, to welcome President Abbas here and to thank the Palestinian Authority and he and his team for the, for the work that they have done on the preparation of this conference because there's been a, as I think people will see, a great deal of work that's gone in to the, the detail of this. And I'm pleased to say that I think we've got a text that we can put out later today which goes through in some detail the various issues that concern us.

Thank you also of course to the United Nations Secretary General for attending and to everybody from Europe, from the Middle East, from different parts of the world who, who have come here this morning. It's probably just worth pointing out right at the outset as well that the significance of this issue and the Middle East peace process, or frankly lack of it over the past few years, the significance of what we're discussing today is not confined to Israel, to Palestine, or even to the Middle East. It's something that concerns all the countries represented here today.

There's probably no more pressing political challenge than to move this process forward because it has a relevance on the streets of Britain, on the streets of European countries as well as in the Middle East itself. It is probably the cause most used or abused by those who try to rally support for extremism and when we therefore make progress on this issue we are not merely enhancing the prospects for the people of Palestine, the people of Israel, we're also enhancing security of every one of the countries represented round this table today.

And the significance of that can be seen very clearly in the attempts by terrorist groups still to disrupt the process and the progress that can be made. Last Friday's suicide attack in Tel Aviv shows very clearly what the purpose of these people is, it is to derail this process, it is to stop it. It is to make sure that people of good will can't make progress and that's why it's so important that our response to them is to say we will not be stopped from making progress on the contrary we will redouble our efforts to make sure that a fair and just solution can be found.

Of course that comes against the background of progress that has, indeed, been made. The election of President Abbas has obviously been an extremely important event. He has rallied the Palestinian people to the thought of reinvigorating the peace process. There is the proposals carried through with considerable courage by Prime Minister Sharon of disengagement. And yet I think all of us know that despite these good signals of progress this is still a fragile enterprise that can so easily be set back as it has been set back on other occasions.

When I was with President Bush at the White House last November we set out there five steps towards a just and peaceful and lasting solution. The first of those was, obviously, successful elections in the Palestinian Authority, that has happened. The second was to make sure that that took place within the context of an over all vision where every one understands the end point is the two state solution that President Bush set out himself and that all of us have endorsed. The fourth element was the disengagement process going forward and the fifth element was then going back in to the road map, reinvigorating that so that the conferences necessary to produce a lasting settlement could be undertaken. And we are here at the third step that we set out which is how do we help and support the Palestinian Authority in their desire to make sure that in the field of governance, security, their economy they can indeed establish that viable Palestinian state?

We all know that one element of viability is territory and that is obviously something that has to be negotiated in the negotiations leading to a final settlement. But the other aspects of viability for any state are in the institutions of that state; how it operates, how it works, its democracy, its economy, it's ability to conduct and perform its own security adequately and properly.

Here as well where I think the whole of the international community wants to be of support and help. You know in the discussions leading up to today we have gone in to a lot of detail on the plans the Palestinian Authority has and I think people, in a sense, will be surprised when President Abbas outlines it and we, we see the final text of the agreement, at how detailed these are. They have clear plans for the Palestinian state of the future in terms of its institutions. What we need to be saying from the international community is how do we help and support that, how de we bolster that? Because in doing so we are encouraging and supporting the peace process itself.

There is financial help available, Europe last week indicated that over the next year somewhere in the region of two hundred and fifty million Euros could be set aside to support this process. We ourselves as the UK Government have contributed an extra ten million pounds taking it to thirty million pounds for our contribution. But there are also many donor countries around this table. But what everyone wants to see is that the support that they are putting in is support that is genuinely going to better the circumstances of the Palestinian people and lead to a situation where they feel confident about their future in a Palestinian state.

So I hope what today will allow us to do is to set out very clearly the Palestinian Authority plans in the fields of governance, security, the economy. Set out also what the international community can do in each of these areas to support the Palestinian Authority. To bring some clarity of responsibility then for how we're going to help this because one of the things is that, that, that I find and I think many people do when they look at this from the outside, is that there are whole series of initiatives, there are all sorts of things that people want to do to help, there's no shortage of good will but we need some clarity about the framework for support. And I think if we can bring that clarity today then that would be of tremendous assistance.

Now the task force for Palestinian reform, the ad hoc liaison committee, the work done by countries like Norway has been of tremendous importance in the whole of this process, there's no doubt about that at all. But I hope that what we can get out of today is a real sense of the determination that I know is there on behalf of the Palestinian Authority to make the changes necessary to create ultimately a viable, independent Palestinian state. A real sense of the support and solidarity from the international community in helping them get there and there by ensure that we can get back in to the road map and those aspects of negotiation that will lead ultimately to the two state solution that every one wants to see.

This is a moment of opportunity, it is vital that we seize it. I'm convinced that we can but I think the one thing that we have learnt over the past few years, certainly I've learnt this since being the Prime Minister of this country, is that the peace process it never happens just because of expressions of good will. It never happens just because we want it to happen. There has to be a patient, hard slog in the detail, in the day to day management to get it done and I hope today's conference can provide some substance to that good will and solidarity that I can assure you Mr President is there for you and for your colleagues.

So with those opening words I will hand over to President Abbas and ask him to address the meeting.