PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia continues to strengthen its role in supporting the Palestinian people, particularly in the recovery and reconstruction of Gaza, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said.
He welcomed the readiness of Japan and Palestine to co-chair, alongside Malaysia, the upcoming 4th Ministerial Meeting of the Conference on Cooperation among East Asian Countries for Palestinian Development (CEAPAD IV) — a key regional cooperation platform that will be outlined through the Kuala Lumpur Action Plan in the near future.
“Our focus is clear, a comprehensive humanitarian response, early recovery, economic development and capacity building.
“We are also committed to coordinating joint efforts under the Gaza reconstruction plan initiated by Egypt, which has received support from the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC),” he said in a statement issued to Bernama and RTM on Friday.
Earlier, Anwar, who is also Finance Minister, received a courtesy call from Palestinian Planning and International Cooperation Minister Dr Estephan Salameh and United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) representative Natalie Boucly at his office here today.
Apart from the Palestinian issue, Anwar said the meeting also touched on the role of UNRWA in international missions.
“The Israeli regime’s barbaric act of banning UNRWA is an open attack against a United Nations (UN) body and must be condemned in the strongest possible terms,” he said.
UNRWA was established in 1949 as a critical lifeline for Palestinian refugees, and it currently supports nearly 5.9 million people in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.
Meanwhile, CEAPAD is a regional platform led by Japan since 2013, bringing together several East Asian countries to support Palestine’s nation-building efforts by leveraging member countries’ resources, expertise and economic development experience.
Current CEAPAD members include Japan, Palestine, Malaysia, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam. - Bernama
