RAMALLAH, October 10, 2011 (WAFA) – Ministry of culture and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) signed an aid agreement worth $60 million to develop Palestinian cultural infrastructure for three years, according to the ministry.

The ministry said that the agreement comes as a revival of the long term cooperation between the two parties, in order to support the sustainable developmental process in Palestine, by targeting more than 17 cultural areas and various cultural  programs, characterized as cooperation and partnership programs among all governmental, cultural , private and international  institutions , especially the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), with the aim of developing the infrastructure of culture.

UNDP Special Representative of the Administrator in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Frode Mauring, stressed on the importance of providing enough developmental resources to support the cultural infrastructure in the Palestinian Territory to rehabilitate and develop it, in a way that reflects the importance of culture in this region of the world and the importance of placing it in its correct spot on the international tourism map.

Minister of Culture, Siham Barghouthi pointed out the importance of cooperating with the UNDP and dealing with culture as a priority on the PA’s agenda, in support of the national cultural strategy, which is considered as an integral part in the overall developmental process of the Palestinian society.

M.G. /F.R.