FINLAND & PALESTINE Proceedings of a Joint Workshop

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OIli Ruohomliki
technical assistance for the design, management and supervision
of investment projects financed by the European Investment
Bank, World Bank, and various bilateral agencies. The
next phase of support will focus on the construction and rehabilitation
of water infrastructure networks in a cluster of villages
northwest of Jerusalem.
Land is a key asset for economic growth and private sector development.
Finland is one of the few bilateral actors active in the
field since 1997 together, in partnership, with the World Bank.
The focus has been on building the capacity of the Palestinian
Land Authority, particularly, land administration and registration.
The Representative Office of Finland in Ramallah has had an
instrument titled "Fund for Local Cooperation" through which
civil society initiatives have been supported. Partners have
included the Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of
International Affairs (PASSIA), the Israeli-Palestinian Centre for
Research and Information (IPCRI), SAWA Center, Elderly Community
Services Centre in the Old City, Palestinian Federation
of Chambers of Commerce, and the International Centre in
Bethlehem.
Humanitarian funding has been channeled through UNRWA,
UNICEF, WFP, WHO and the ICRC. In addition, Finland was a
key contributor to the World Bank administered Emergency
Support Services Programme to sustain basic service delivery
during the second Intifada. Finland also contributed to the ECadministered
Temporary International Mechanism (TIM),
through which salaries of the Palestinian Authority personnel
were paid during the difficult post-2006 times. In addition,
Finland has supported the EC's Pegase Mechanism and World
Bank's Palestinian Reform and Development Plan Trust Fund,
which basically paid for the Palestinian Authority recurrent
expenditures and investment projects.
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