Cablegate: Private Sector Develops Resilience and Recovery

VZCZCXRO7935
OO RUEHROV
DE RUEHJM #0511 0751651
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 161651Z MAR 07
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6989
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY

UNCLAS JERUSALEM 000511

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

NEA/IPA FOR WILLIAMS/SHAMPAINE/BELGRADE; NSC FOR
ABRAMS/DORAN/WATERS; TREASURY FOR
SZUBIN/LOEFFLER/NUGENT/HIRSON

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON EFIN EINV EAID PREL KWBG
SUBJECT: PRIVATE SECTOR DEVELOPS RESILIENCE AND RECOVERY
PLAN

1. (SBU) Summary: The Palestinian private sector
institutions who are members of the Private Sector
Development Working Group, one of the donor coordination
working groups chaired by the World Bank, have drafted a
Resilience and Recovery Plan, designed to aid the Palestinian
private sector during the current economic crisis. The plan
prioritizes an estimated USD 150-200 million of proposed
projects to limit "de-development" in the Palestinian
territories, to influence change in the political situation
that is more favorable to private sector interests, and to
advocate for freer access and movement. End Summary.

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Private Sector Prioritizes Programs
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2. (SBU) Palestinian private sector institutions, under the
Private Sector Coordinating Council (PSCC), came together in
the fall of 2006 and developed the Resilience and Recovery
Plan to prioritize assistance to the private sector during
the current economic downturn. Palestinian private sector
institutions sought to prioritize projects that can address
private sector concerns and/or limit "de-development" in the
private sector, thereby positioning the private sector for
economic recovery once the political situation improves.

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Targeted Approach to Economic Priorities
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3. (SBU) The plan prioritizes an estimated USD 150-200
million of proposed short-term projects to address several
main facets of the Palestinian economy, including:

--Financial tools and programs to enable access to credit and
mitigate financial risks,
--Competitiveness improvements in industry, services, and
agribusiness,
--Market access (global and domestic), to include countering
vertical fragmentation,
--Housing and municipal services funded by public-private
partnerships and soft loans, and
--Institutional capacity-building for private sector
organizations to provide member services and advocate for
change in the political and regulatory environment.

4. (SBU) Once the plan is finalized, the PSCC will arrange
bilateral meetings with donors to identify how donor efforts
can support it.

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Comment
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5. (SBU) The private sector's efforts to prioritize its
needs during the current economic downturn is commendable.
However, few of the proposed projects actually focus on
emergency assistance to the private sector; most are
conventional economic development projects. The primary
value of the Resilience and Recovery Plan seems to be as a
mechanism to focus and coordinate donor assistance. It
appears the Palestinian private sector organizations will
soon use it as a "shopping list" of aid projects for donors
interested in increasing their work with the private sector.
WALLES

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