KUALA LUMPUR: The fourth Ministerial Meeting of the Conference on Cooperation among East Asian Countries for Palestinian Development (CEAPAD IV) will be held in Kuala Lumpur on July 11.
The meeting will be jointly chaired by Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan and his counterparts from Japan and Palestine, Wisma Putra said on Thursday (June 5).
Earlier, Malaysia, Japan and Palestine had co-chaired the eighth Working-level Online Meeting of CEAPAD.
The meeting was held for the second time this year with discussions focused on current and future assistance needs for Palestine and preparations for the 4th CEAPAD, the ministry said on its official Facebook page.
The meeting was also participated by Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, South Korea, the World Bank, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and the Islamic Development Bank.
Separately, the Japanese Foreign Ministry, in a statement, said participants to the meeting have concurred to working towards the success of the upcoming ministerial meeting.
The Palestinian side, meanwhile, updated the participants on the current situation in Gaza and the West Bank, and outlined future assistance needs, it added.
The virtual meeting was co-chaired by the director-general of the Middle Eastern and African Affairs Bureau at Japan's Foreign Ministry, Ando Toshihide, Palestine's Acting Planning and International Cooperation Minister, Dr Samah Hamad, and and undersecretary of the International Cooperation and Development Division at Malaysia's Foreign Ministry, Devrin Jeck.
CEAPAD is a regional platform initiated by Japan in 2013 to support Palestinian state-building efforts by leveraging the resources, knowledge, and economic development experiences of East Asian nations.
In a joint news conference in Putrajaya early this year, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba have reaffirmed commitment to CEAPAD and to support Palestinian development efforts. - Bernama
