Turkey steps up ties with Palestinian Authority
Turkey and the Palestinian Authority have signed new agreements, indicating Ankara intends to broaden official dealings with the PA, but limit its financial assistance to the Gaza Strip to relief agencies.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) and Turkey are boosting their ties in economic, investment and educational sectors, despite Turkey’s close relations with the rival Hamas movement. This raises a question about how Ankara will balance dealing with both parties.
The Palestinian government approved Sept. 12 an agreement designed to encourage Turkish investments in the Palestinian territories — both the West Bank, run by the PA, and the Hamas-administered Gaza Strip. The measure also aims to conserve Palestinian investments in Turkey, safeguard bilateral investments in the economic and trade sectors, advance economic relations and ensure a positive investment climate in both countries.
Palestinian Minister of National Economy Abeer Odeh and Turkish Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan also signed Sept. 5 in Ankara an agreement to advance bilateral investments and boost cooperation in a long list of sectors including trade, industry, agriculture, investment, free-trade and industrial zones, customs, services, transportation, energy, tourism, education, Palestinian heritage protection, postal services and trade exhibitions.
Azmi Abdul Rahman, spokesman for the Palestinian National Economy Ministry, told Al-Monitor, “The Turkish-Palestinian economic agreements are part of the ministry’s policy to access foreign markets," outside of Israel's shadow. The ministry hopes to accomplish this by signing trade agreements with other "partners in the Arab and Muslim worlds as well as international ones."
