H.E. President Arafat’s Speech
at the World Economic Forum
Davos,Switzerland
January 27 - February 1, 2000

Mr. Chairman
Distinguished heads of the participating delegations
Ladies and Gentlemen

Allow me first to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to the Chairman of the World Economic Forum for inviting me to address you at this prestigious annual gathering; and to commend him and his colleagues for their efforts to organize and hold this meeting here in  Davos with all this impressive number of distinguished political and financial world leaders.

We in Palestine value very much the major role this Forum plays in the world economy, especially in building strong close ties among all participating institutions in the area of economics and business; and in charting new roads for all countries to closely cooperate together based on mutual respect and interests. 

Mr. Chairman
Ladies and Gentlemen

This meeting comes at the beginning of the new millenium. It comes at a time where the world has witnessed substantial and far reaching transformation not only in ideas, values and objectives, but also in the means of attaining them. If one is to reflect for a minute on the past century, and to draw some conclusions, it seems that the great achievements the world has made in the last hundred years were mainly based on two main principles: free human beings and free economies. This freedom was the vehicle that led the world to where we stand today, and it is the only guarantee for the continuation of today’s prosperity and advancement in the twenty first century.

Mr. Chairman,

This freedom I am referring to here constitutes the base on which peace, prosperity and stability can be achieved in the Middle East. This just and comprehensive peace which is based on the freedom of people and markets will in turn create the proper environment to establish a strong regional economy that will revive our area again, and enable it to catch up with the rest of the world. It will also help to integrate it with the world economy and to give it the chance to explore and exploit new opportunities and make it more capable of utilizing its human and natural resources for the good of its own people.

Peace and stability, Mr. Chairman, will open up the Middle East to regional cooperation and joint ventures in the fields of high technology, tourism, transportation, telecommunication, and other mega projects that we have dreamt of for so long. These projects will provide the people of the Middle East with water, energy, and shared growth opportunities, and will enable us to transform the area in a way that can attract foreign capital and technology. All this will open the door for Palestine to develop as an emerging economy in the context of a more integrated, and more developed regional economy.

Mr. Chairman
Ladies and Gentlemen

This peace that we want and actively seek, should also give us the opportunity to build our modern Palestinian state. It should give freedom to the Palestinian people to fully participate in the on going efforts to build this state, and to create the enabling environment for domestic and foreign capital to invest in a free and unrestricted access to the international markets.

This peace, Mr. Chairman, means that Palestinian refugees in the Diaspora, and in accordance with the UN resolution 194, should be able to return to their homeland, so as to benefit from their skills and capabilities accumulated over the past 50 years an all areas of human knowledge.

It also means that Palestine should be able to get back its legitimate and indispensable rights of water, land and other natural resources needed to lay the necessary economic foundations of the new state; This, ladies and gentlemen, requires an immediate end to the ongoing settlement of our land and its colonization, especially in the Holy City of Jerusalem, and around the City of Bethlehem.

Last, but not least, peace means that we should be able to provide our population with the prosperity and decent living standards that they deserve. To do this, we need to be able to compete regionally and internationally, with unfettered and unrestricted land, sea and air access to international markets; and to be able to establish the peace of the brave: a just, comprehensive and durable peace, allowing our independent and free people to live on their free and independent land.

Mr. Chairman
Ladies and Gentlemen

Our vision for peace that I have just outlined, requires a strong support for the ongoing negotiations, both for the transitional period and for the final status. These negotiations are proceeding very, very slowly. The implementation of whatever little measures we agree upon goes through a bottleneck of procrastination, unilateral delaying tactics, and minimalist implementation that threaten the whole process. And while we have agreed to arrive, before mid February, to a framework of joint vision for the future final settlement so as to enable us to reach such a final settlement in September 2000, we find ourselves running the risk of wasting this historical opportunity to achieve a just, comprehensive and lasting peace, the peace of the braves. This, ladies and gentlemen, calls upon us all , Palestinians, Israelis, Arabs, Europeans, and Americans, and indeed the whole world, for a prompt action to save the peace process and help us march forward toward a new century of peace, freedom, and prosperity.

Mr. Chairman
Ladies and Gentlemen

This Palestinian dream is not based on illusions. We have been working diligently since the Palestinian leadership returned home in accordance with the UN resolutions 242, 338, and 425, to fulfill our dream. We are proceeding forward in building our public institutions and laying the foundations of democracy, rule of law, and human rights. We are also continuing our relentless efforts to reconstruct our economy after long years of destructive occupation, based on private initiative and free market principles. New laws to attract foreign investment have been introduced. Projects to rehabilitate existing infrastructure and build new ones have been implemented. Modern industrial zones have been constructed. Investment in education and health is continuing to fully use of our human resources.

In addition to all this, we have lately started a major undertaking of administrative and financial reform in order to improve the performance of our public sector institutions. A presidential decree was enacted three weeks ago to establish a Higher Council for Development, which is charged with promoting investment in Palestine, and insure good revenue performance and sound revenue administration, as well as strengthening the public finance system.

All these efforts, Mr. Chairman, have started to produce positive results. In 1999, the Palestinian economy has witnessed 4.5% growth in GNP; unemployment, around 14%, is down from its previous high rates; private investment is up and has provided 60% of the new jobs created last year.

Mr. Chairman
Ladies and Gentlemen

We are looking to your continued support of the Palestinian people and their National Authority. We need your support to help us implement, fully and honestly, the agreements signed with the Israeli government so as not to waste more of our time. That precious time we need to concentrate our efforts to rebuild our society and its economic and social infrastructure. We have a tough job ahead of us to modernize all sectors of our economy: industry, agriculture, tourism, telecommunications, technology transfer, and above all, develop our human resources to be able to run our free economy efficiently and productively. This is our vision for the future Palestinian State.

Mr. Chairman,

Allow me once again to thank you and your colleagues for your continued efforts to make this World Economic Forum a platform for all world leaders to share their ideas, thoughts, and visions for the future, on the road to growth and prosperity for all.

Thank You.