Ramallah (UNA/WAFA) - The fifth meeting of the Joint Coordination Committee between the Department of Refugee Affairs of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) was held today, Wednesday, at the Department’s headquarters in Ramallah, to discuss the development and improvement of the Palestinian camps.
The meeting was attended by members of the Joint Coordination Committee, namely: the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), the Ministry of Local Government, the Ministry of Finance, the JICA expert team, and the counterpart team in the Department of Refugee Affairs.
The meeting discussed the mechanism for selecting the camps for the third batch of the project, as the Balata camps in Nablus, Dheisheh in Bethlehem, and Al-Amari in Ramallah were selected according to the criteria specified and agreed upon within the framework of the project. Work will take place inside these camps during the next phase in order to complete strategic planning in accordance with the comprehensive participatory principle.
The Department of Refugee Affairs said in a statement that this meeting comes in light of the difficult circumstances that the Palestinian people are going through, especially our people in the refugee camps, which need concerted efforts to improve their conditions and strengthen the steadfastness of the refugees inside them.
The meeting confirmed that progress in the project is proceeding at a steady and tangible pace on the ground, despite the great challenges facing the region, and that the planning process will include all camps. The importance of joint coordination between all participating parties was also emphasized.
The General Representative of the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) office in Palestine, Mitsutaka Hoshi, expressed his deep sadness at the current situation in Palestine, pointing to the large number of victims who fall daily and the ongoing (Israeli) incursions into the camps.
Hoshi stressed that the Department of Refugee Affairs did not stop implementing the project despite all the surrounding circumstances, expressing his great appreciation for the department’s efforts to support and serve the Palestinian camps.
Hoshi announced that JICA is in the process of approving the third phase of the project, despite the great challenges surrounding this achievement.
He pointed out their full confidence in the ability of the Department of Refugee Affairs and its administration to implement this stage efficiently and seriously, and achieve the desired results to serve the Palestinian people.
The meeting was attended by the Undersecretary of the Department of Refugee Affairs, the Project Director Anwar Hamam, the UNRWA File Director Kanaan Al-Jamal, the Director of the Central Camps Nancy Al-Hindi, the Director of Oversight Hossam Musleh, the Director General of the Planning and Policy Unit in the Ministry of Local Government Ohoud Enaya, and the Deputy Head of the Infrastructure and Improvement Program. The camps in UNRWA were Dima Abu Al-Saud, the project coordinator in the Ministry of Finance Basil Abu Alia, the senior advisor in the JICA team of experts Masaya Sekiguchi, and members of the counterpart team in the Department of Refugee Affairs and the JICA team of experts.
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