RAMALLAH, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian and U.S. officials on Tuesday held the first senior-level economic dialogue in five years, during which the two sides recognized the importance of restoring political and economic ties.
Officials from the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the United States met virtually to renew the U.S.-Palestinian economic dialogue, which brought together a wide spectrum of agencies and ministers from the U.S. government and the PA, according to a joint statement issued after the meeting.
The meeting discussed the "present and future areas of economic cooperation," said the statement, which added that the two sides pledged to expand and deepen cooperation and coordination across a range of sectors, including infrastructure development, access to the U.S. market, free trade, financial issues, renewable energy, environmental initiatives, and foreign direct investment, among others.
"This year's dialogue was a testament to the importance of U.S.-Palestinian economic relations and the opportunity to increase collaboration on economic issues of shared importance," the statement said.
Palestinian Minister of National Economy Khaled Al-Osaily, Minister of Communication & Information Technology Ishaq Sider and Chairman of the Palestinian Energy & Natural Resources Authority Zafer Melhem, were among the participants of the meeting.
Members of the U.S. delegation included Acting Assistant Secretary of the State Department's Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs Yael Lempert and the bureau's Deputy Assistant Secretary for Israeli and Palestinian Affairs Hady Amr.
Political ties between the PA and the U.S. were severed in 2017 as result of former U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to recognize the disputed holy city of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
The Palestinians aim to establish an independent Palestinian state on the Palestinian territories taken by Israel in the 1967 war, including the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, with the eastern part of Jerusalem to be the capital of their state. Enditem
