JEDDAH, 9 June — A trade fair showcasing Palestinian products opened at the Jamjoom Commercial Center here last night. Industry and Electricity Minister Dr. Hashim Yamani formerly opened the show in the presence of a large number of diplomats, businessmen and Palestinians.
A five-member official delegation is accompanying 60 participating companies that have put up stands showcasing their products and services.
“It is organized as part of the Kingdom’s support of the Palestinian people,” Islamic Development Bank President Dr. Ahmad Muhammad Ali told a press conference earlier at the bank premises. “It’s organized as part of the activities of the Al Aqsa Fund of the Arab Support Mechanism for the intifada,” he added.
The fund was established at the initiative of the Kingdom’s delegation to the extraordinary Arab summit in Cairo in October 2000 headed by Crown Prince Abdullah, the regent. The Al Aqsa fund comprises a special program for the promotion and export of Palestinian national products.
As part of the program, Palestinian trade fairs are organized and products promoted in international trade fairs organized in Arab, Islamic and other countries to enable businessmen and nationals of such countries to familiarize themselves with Palestinian products, said Industries Minister Dr. Sadi Al-Kruz, who heads the official delegation.
The team includes Federation of Chamber of Commerce & Industry Chairman Ahmad Zhkere, Federation of Palestine Industry Secretary Mazen T. Sinokrot, and Federation of Chamber of Commerce & Industry-Jerusalem Ahmad Hashim Saghir, as well as Ambassador Mustafa Hashim Deeb.
“Enabling Palestinian products to have access to these markets enhances the Palestinian economy, opens new perspectives and creates new job opportunities for those who cannot earn their livelihood as a result of the blockade and embargo imposed on all Palestinian towns and villages. The export promotion program will also help the Palestinian economy build its capacity and stave off the policy of isolation and blockade applied by Israel on the Palestinian people,” Al-Kruz said.
According to him, the Aqsa fund has launched a number of programs as part of its activities “in order to provide assistance to the Palestinian people, alleviate their daily plight under Israeli occupation, cater for the families of martyrs and the wounded, and safeguard the Arab/Islamic character of Al Quds.”
On display are a wide range of Palestinian products, including food items, medicines, cosmetics, machines, minerals, leatherworks, furniture, refrigerators, glass, handicrafts, stonework, textile, chemicals and information systems.
Al-Kruz said the show exemplified the determination of Palestinians who were putting up a brave fight against the ongoing Israeli aggression. “Our GDP in 1999 was $4 billion, $1.65 billion of which accounted for industrial output. Tourism is a promising sector. But our concern is unemployment — 350,000, or 58 percent, of Palestinians are unemployed due to the closure of many factories,” he added.
This was substantiated by the ambassador who said: “Some 65 percent of the Palestinians are reeling under poverty due to the Israeli acts of cruelty and the consequent turmoil, and 38 percent of them are living below the poverty line.”
