Vice Prime Minister and Minister for Regional Development Silvan Shalom met with Palestinian Minister for National Economy Bassem Khoury in Jerusalem on Wednesday, in the first official meeting between Israeli and Palestinian ministers since Netanyahu's government came to power.
After the meeting Shalom said the it was "positive and gives hope for economic peace." At the conclusion of the meeting, the two ministers agreed to meet once a month or once every six weeks. It was also decided the joint teams should be set up to work together on a daily basis.
The purpose of the meeting was to discuss bureaucratic ties between the two entities, including granting visas to businesspeople, the export of milk products from the West Bank to Israel, and medical treatment for Palestinians in Israel.
Shalom and Khoury, to meet again (Photo: Dudi Vaaknin)
The two first held a private meeting in the Kind David Hotel in the capital, and the meeting was then be expanded to include members of the joint economic committee.
Representatives of the Foreign Ministry, Defense Ministry, Industry, Trade and Labor Ministry, and the Justice and Finance ministries were in attendance.
Minister Shalom's objective in the meeting was to advance the removal of bureaucratic hurdles, based on the concept of economic peace between the two parties.
Shalom and Khoury also discussed the industrial zone in Jenin, the Christian pilgrimage site Qasr al-Yahud on the Jordan River, and other joint projects.
"I am glad that the Palestinians have realized that boycotting meetings with Israel and its government are harmful first and foremost to them," Shalom said before the meeting.
"I have said in the past that our goal is to achieve economic peace and this does not prevent political dialogue, but helps it," he added.
The two ministers have already shaken hands in the past at a Peres Center for Peace seminar on economic peace.
At the time, Khoury said he "would like to meet with Israeli ministers for bilateral talks when the conditions allow."
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