Cyprus-Forum.com

[halil]

Turkey and Palestine signed an agreement to establish a joint committee on Monday.

Foreign ministers of the two countries signed the agreement, prior to the meeting between Turkish President Abdullah Gul and Head of the Palestinian State Mahmoud Abbas which is taking place on the sidelines of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-building Measures in Asia (CICA) in Istanbul.

The agreement signed by Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and his Palestinian counterpart Riyad El-Maliki aims to draw the framework of Turkey's aid and support to the Palestinian state.

The committee which will be co-chaired by the foreign ministers of the two countries is foreseen to convene at least twice every year, in order to determine areas of cooperation and lay down action plans.

Turkey will provide political consultation to Palestine, provide training to its diplomats and training in the areas technical cooperation. The committee also aims to increase investments in the areas of water resources and agriculture. It also aims to draw the cooperation in the fields of culture, education, health and science.

Under the agreement Turkey will provide more scholarships to Palestinian students in Turkish universities and support investments in Palestine for construction of schools and improvement of the existing education infrastructure. In the area of health, Turkey will share its know-how in the medical field.

Following the signing of the agreement, Gul and Abbas held a meeting which was closed to the press.


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