"At this decisive time in the peace process," a statement from the conference released on Friday said, support from the international community, the Arab world, and Israel were essential if the Palestinian Authority was to continue to build state institutions and government transparency.
With international donors called on to boost support payments to the PA, the conference asked Israel to do its part, with the chair and co-chairs asking Israel to "take more ambitious, structural measures to continue to ease access and movement," so that the PA can continue the work funded by the international community.
The donors also called on Israel to abide by its commitments to move "to a transparent negative list for the import of goods and an increase in the transit capacity of the crossings," in a " rapid, and effective" manner.
Officials pressed Israel to include reconstruction materials for "not only infrastructures, but also private housing," and demanded that exports be "authorized to allow the legitimate business sector to restart."
In the statement, French and Norwegian Foreign Ministers Bernard Kouchner and Jonas Gahr Støre congratulated the PA on its successes thus far, particularly on state-building projects as well as gains in government transparency, and called for the "the continued pursuit of strict control of public expenditure by the PA."
Recognizing that the government had a budgetary shortfall for 2010, the conference officials asked partners to increase donations, and send an appeal to the Arab world to work to support the development initiatives supported by the conference.
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