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Sweden participated in high-level meeting on support to the Palestinians

On Friday, Sweden took part, for the first time, in a meeting with the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC). Minister for International Development Cooperation Gunilla Carlsson represented Sweden at the meeting, which took place in London.

"At today's talks, I emphasised the importance of greater mobility, exchange and trade for the Palestinian territories. This is important for instilling hope for a better future and also enables our development assistance initiatives to have a greater impact," says Ms Carlsson.

The AHLC is the main body for international coordination of support to the West Bank and Gaza. Participation in Friday's meeting was a recognition of Sweden's role, both at the political and development assistance policy levels.

"At the meeting, it emerged that great steps have been taken in the Palestinian reform process under Prime Minister Fayyad. Now clear progress is needed on the ground to increase confidence in the peace negotiations. Pressure on Israel is growing to reduce the number of road blocks and stop further expansion of settlements so as to improve the economic potential and the living conditions in the Palestinian territories. At the same time, the Palestinian National Authority is expected to fulfil its commitments to fight terrorism," says Ms Carlsson.

Also participating in the meeting were the Quartet (the UN, the EU, the USA and Russia) envoy for the Middle East Tony Blair, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, the High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Israel's Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.