RAMALLAH, February 26, 2025 (WAFA) – The Palestine Trade Center (PalTrade) Wednesday launched the EU4Trade Project to enhance Palestinian exports and stimulate sustainable economic growth.
Officially launched at a ceremony held in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, the EU4Trade project is a three-year initiative funded by a direct grant of over €3.3 million from the European Union (EU) to unleash Palestine's export potential and promote sustainable economic growth. It seeks to strengthen the competitiveness of Palestinian Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in international markets, with a particular focus on EU countries.
The launching ceremony was attended by Minister of National Economy Mohammad Alamour, Minister of Industry Arafat Asfour, the EU Representative to the West Bank and Gaza Strip Alexandre Stutzmann, Head of Cooperation at the EU Representative Office Ibrahim Laafia, Chairman of the Board of Directors of PalTrade Ibrahim Barham, PalTrade Chief Executive Officer Ruwa Jabr, together with a host of businessmen, exporters, investors and representatives of SMEs.
Minister of National Economy Alamour said that the project reflects the joint by the State of Palestine and the EU to support the Palestinian economy and strengthen the competitiveness of the private sector.
He added that Palestine was going through substantial economic challenges, making it necessary to redouble efforts to support the Palestinian economy, reinforce Palestinians’ steadfastness by means of enhancing local production, tap into new markets, and facilitate exporting procedures to ensure SMEs can expand.
Minister of Industry Asfour said that EU4Trade would contribute to opening up new markets in the EU for many Palestinian companies by aligning the latter with EU exporting laws, rules, and requirements.
Chairman of PalTrade’s Board of Directors Barham said that EU4Trade marks an important landmark in Palestinian-European cooperation, laying the groundwork for achieving a quantum leap in the Palestinian exporting sector and helping build a robust and sustainable economy.
The EU Representative Stutzmann said the fact that EU4Trade was successfully launched despite all challenges demonstrates the EU’s commitment to serve its longstanding vision of realizing the two-state solution.
He pledged that the EU would not stop short of continuing to play its role to improve the economic situation to open up new horizons for the Palestinian private sector with a focus on entrepreneurship.
K.F.
