JERICHO, August 14, 2025 (WAFA) – The Palestinian-Japanese partnership is a strategic lever for Palestine’s national industrial development, Minister of Industry and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Palestinian Industrial Estates and Free Zones Authority, Arafat Asfour, said on Thursday.
Asfour made his remarks as he received Parliamentary Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan Matsumoto Hisashi, Head of Japan’s Representative Office to Palestine Araiki Katsuhiko, Chief Representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Palestine Mitsutaka Hoshi, and the accompanying delegation at the Jericho Agro-Industrial Park.
Minister Asfour stressed the importance of completing the development of the Agro-Industrial City in a manner that enhances its ability to attract investments and grow the national economy, despite the exceptional circumstances our Palestinian people are experiencing in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including Jerusalem, and the challenges arising from the economic restrictions imposed by the Israeli occupation.
He commended the Japanese government for its pivotal role in supporting the Palestinian people, especially in the industrial and economic sectors, noting the tangible progress in the Agro-Industrial City could not have been achieved without the close cooperation between the Palestinian government and the private sector to attract high-quality investments in multiple industrial and agricultural sectors.
Parliamentary Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan Hisashi welcomed the progress achieved in completing the first part of the infrastructure for the second phase of the project, affirming his country’s continued support for the Palestinian economy, particularly the Agro-Industrial City project serves as a model of Japan-Palestine robust partnership and friendship.
K.F.
