PH, Palestine eye areas of common interest for future partnerships

The Philippines and Palestine are looking into specific niches of common interest following successful bilateral talks between Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Theresa Lazaro and visiting Palestinian Foreign Minister Varsen Shahin over the past week.

In a press conference on Thursday, Shahin said the Philippines and Palestine will see “what the Philippines is best at and what Palestine needs the most” for future partnerships.

“We need to see what niche the Philippines has. If the Philippines is good in agriculture, the Philippines is good in healthcare… That would be an example of where we can build a relationship with the Philippines,” she shared.

“The Philippines, Vietnam, and Thailand can help us more in international platforms, how we can maybe start trade activities, religious pilgrimage, and so forth. So we have several objectives in related areas of mutual interest to both countries,” she added.

The foreign minister said that in her four days of activity in the country, the Philippines and Palestine were able to form memorandums of understanding for political consultations and joint ministerial committees.

These include discussions and agreements in the sectors of tourism, trade, and agriculture.

Palestine ready to take over Gaza governance

Following the ceasefire and the ongoing Trump plan for Gaza, Shahin said that Palestine was ready to take over the governance of Gaza.

Currently, she said Palestine was a “state in the making” that had to be judged as such.

“We're very ready, and we have been ready for some time. It starts with relief efforts, then construction in the medium term, and then construction in the longer term, and it will span five years,” Shahin said.

“We cannot be judged as a normal state, as a state that has been ongoing for ages, and then whether reform is needed or not. No. We are developing, and we learn from our experiences. We learn from our mistakes,” she continued.

In her meeting with the DFA, Shahin said that aid from the Philippines to Gaza was discussed.

“We talked about the plan, and we said that any support, any in-kind support, any financial support, any technical support would be beneficial, and we referred back to the issue of mutual interest, where the niches and where the best support can be given to the Palestinians, meeting the interests of the Philippines,” she said.

Israel and Hamas had recently agreed to a ceasefire and hostage deal as part of the first phase of U.S. President Donald Trump’s 20-point framework to bring peace to Palestine after two years of conflict.

The peace plan was welcomed by several countries, including the Philippines.

"We welcome this breakthrough and congratulate the peacemakers. The persistent diplomatic efforts by the mediators – the US, Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey – bringing about the necessary pause in the hostilities and securing the release of hostages," the DFA had said in a statement. —LDF, GMA Integrated News