Mideast Action Plan
October 31, 2007
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier discussed the European action plan on the Middle East with Acting Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in Ramallah, according to Palestinian Information Minister Riyad al-Malki.
Steinmeier himself devised the plan, which would see the European Union try to strengthen small and mid-sized Palestinian businesses, universities in the West bank, the police and other institutions in a bid to stabilize the region.
The concept, which has already been approved at an EU foreign ministers' meeting, would be implemented following a Middle East peace conference slated to take place in Annapolis, Maryland, USA in November.
Following his 90-minute meeting with Fayyad, Steinmeier left Ramallah without elaborating further on the action plan or answering journalists' questions.
He later met with Israeli President Shimon Peres.
Relaunching peace talks
Israel and the Palestinians are currently trying to draft a joint document that would describe the core issue of their conflict and which is to be presented at the conference in the US. The meeting is meant to relaunch Israeli-Palestinian peace talks that broke down in January 2001.
Before arriving in Ramallah, Steinmeier met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo.
Addressing the planned US conference he said to journalists after talks with Mubarak: "This conference will not succeed unless it opens tangible horizons for the Palestinian people. We must work to improve stability in these territories."
Stability also for EU
Ahead of his five-day tour of the Middle East, Steinmeier reiterated that Germany continues to believe in a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinian territories, stressing security for Israel and a viable Palestinian state in accordance with the ideas being put forward by the Middle East Quartet of the United States, Russia, the European Union and United Nations.
"If we use the opportunity of the Quartet and if Europeans and Americans continue to work together shoulder-to-shoulder, we can achieve success," Steinmeier said.
He also said stability in the Middle East was of central importance for European security.
During his two-day trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories, Steinmeier is also scheduled to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.