Hebron Mayor Khaled Osaily met today at his office with a delegation from the German Technical Cooperation Agency (GTZ) chaired by Mrs. Andrea Joras, GTZ country director/ Palestine and Jordan and comprising Mrs. Tina Einfeldt, Director/GTZ Program of Support for Civil Society in the Palestinian Territories and Dr. Samira Barakat, Head of the GTZ Private Sector Promotion Program. Osaily also met with a delegation from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) chaired by Mario Carera, head of SDC/West Bank and Gaza.

Mayor Osaily accompanied the delegations on a tour to the 2009 Palestinian National Industries Fair, stopping first at the Small-sized Enterprises Center wing funded by the Private Sector Promotion Program. The delegation commended the Fair‘s organization and the advanced level of Palestinian industries. Osaily said the Fair is the best way to focus on Palestinian industries which should give attention to quality and packaging issues to facilitate commercialization of goods on local and external markets. "Despite dire conditions witnessed by Palestinian industries due to the occupation, we in Palestine enjoy success stories which attract local and foreign investors. Such investments create jobs and limit unemployment", he said. Mayor Osaily commended the role played by local and foreign media in their continuous coverage of the 2009 Fair which helps boost citizens‘ awareness. Osaily added that the number of Fair visitors exceeded all expectations which helps in promoting national products and in getting better acquainted with industries involved in building the Palestinian State.

Dr. Samira Barakat explained that GTZ supported the Fair in order to encourage local Palestinian industries and to support the private sector. She spoke about the long history of cooperation between GTZ and Palestinian Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture and said this Fair is an occasion to introduce national industries to consumers. "GTZ supports small enterprises in order to enable them to participate at fairs which normally attract large companies against which they cannot compete as well as to help them book wings in those fairs. We worked with 30 enterprises from throughout the West Bank and we printed brochures and catalogues for participating industries from the Gaza Strip who were unable to participate because of difficult conditions", she added. Dr. Barakat hoped to see more industries from the Gaza Strip in next year‘s Fair and expressed her admiration at the Fair‘s organization, saying that the 2009 Fair was organized in a manner similar to fairs in Germany. She was pleased about the participation of two companies enjoying commercial ties with Germany -importation of raw materials from Germany/exportation of Palestinian goods to Germany. "We at GTZ are proud of our small contribution to the success of the Fair, and we shall work to support next year‘s fair", she added.

Dr. Barakat thanked mayor Osaily for the warm welcome he extended to the GTZ delegation at the Municipality as well as for his detailed presentation on tragic economic conditions in Hebron Governorate due to closures and checkpoints, and the success stories he presented on businessmen, companies and industries from Hebron which thrive despite all challenges.