At the opening of the conference on May 7th, 2008, altogether 80 participants representing only the leading Palestinian decision-makers and stakeholders of the economic sector came together in order to start a public-private dialogue with Economics Minister M. Kamal Hasounah and other well-known representatives of the government.

In his opening speech, Economics Minister M. Kamal Hasounah referred to the importance of this meeting and the Private Sector Agenda for the development of the Palestinian economy, and emphasized the necessity to improve the international competitiveness of Palestinian companies and products. Moreover, he welcomed all contributions made by the participants to amend the Private Sector Agenda.

Dr. Bassem Khoury, President of the Palestinian Federation of Industries, thanked Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung for its support and underlined the need of all players concerned to actively work together. According to Mr. Khoury, the keys to economic recovery are a reliable legal framework, industrial modernization and the institution of a bank specialized on economic development.

In his speech, Thomas Birringer, Resident Representative of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Ramallah, referred to the foundation’s belief in the principles of a free and social market economy, and stressed the importance of a strong private sector as the core of every democratic society. He especially honored the participants‘own initiative “from within“ as being one of the crucial preconditions for the economic development of the Palestinian Territories.

On May 8th, 2008, the conference’s participants will continue discussing the Private Sector Agenda and Industrial Policies. Both will be then presented to a number of national and international decision-makers. Adopted by the Palestinian Authority, the government receives practical guidelines for economic reforms and actions to be taken to strengthen the Palestinian Private Sector.