SINGAPORE: Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan reaffirmed Singapore’s commitment to support the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) development during a conference in Manila on Wednesday (July 22), when he also met a Palestinian leader on the event’s sidelines to discuss Middle East affairs.
Balakrishnan is in the Philippine capital to attend the 59th Asean Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, and on July 22 participated in the Conference on Cooperation Among East Asian Countries for Palestinian Development (CEAPAD), which was first initiated by Japan in 2013 as a platform for regional countries to discuss capacity-building assistance for the Palestinians.
He reiterated Singapore’s support for the Palestinian Authority’s capacity-building efforts through the S$10 million Enhanced Technical Assistance Package (ETAP), which has provided training, study visits and scholarships for Palestinians.
Some training and education initiatives under the ETAP have included postgraduate scholarships in Singapore, English training courses for PA officials, and also digital entrepreneurship training modules, said Balakrishnan in an address at the CEAPAD meeting, which was also attended by the foreign ministers of Japan and the Philippines.
At least 800 Palestinian officials have participated in these study visits or training courses under the ETAP that started in 2013, he said, including 15 postgraduate scholarships awarded to Palestinian students at Singapore universities.
Balakrishnan added that 16 Palestinian civil police officers are also in Singapore this week to attend a community policing course jointly conducted by Singapore and Japan’s International Cooperation Agency.
On the sidelines of the meetings, Balakrishnan met PA Minister of Social Development Samah Hamad, with whom he exchanged views on the political and humanitarian situation in Gaza.
He also met Christian Saunders, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) commissioner-general ad interim, and discussed the agency’s important role in providing humanitarian assistance for Palestinian refugees.
Singapore has contributed around 11 tranches of humanitarian assistance worth US$19 million (S$24.5 million) to the war-stricken Gaza Strip since October 2023.
The Gaza war broke out on Oct 7, 2023 with Hamas’ attack on Israel, which killed around 1,200 people. Israel’s retaliatory strikes since have killed more than 73,000 people according to figures tracked by Reuters and the Gaza Health Ministry.
Working with Jordan, the Republic has also assisted with airdrops and contributions to the World Food Programme that has supported more than 5,500 people in Gaza.
Addressing representatives of 12 other countries and territories in Manila, including Hamad, Balakrishnan said: “Singapore is committed to helping the Palestinian people build the future that you deserve.
“We re-affirm our longstanding and consistent support for a negotiated two-state solution... the only viable path to a comprehensive, just and durable solution where Palestinians and Israelis can live side-by-side in peace, dignity and security.”
He also expressed Singapore’s willingness to host the next CEAPAD in 2027, when the Republic will take over the Asean chairmanship, to continue the platform started for regional countries to discuss capacity-building assistance for the Palestinians. - The Straits Times/ANN
