APLA in cooperation with the EU launched the project of Multi-Annual Action Plan (MAAP) 2021-2025, during the meeting convened at APLA's HQ in Ramallah, attended by its President, Eng. Musa Hadid; Head of Economic Development, Water/Energy, Area C and Trade – Office of the EU West Bank & Gaza, Charles Radout; Programs Director at the EU, Ammar Al-Khatib; Director of Area C Programs and Local Governance at the EU, Jenin Abu Azzam; Director of the Local Governance Reform Program – LGRP/GIZ, Yvonne Mueller; Technical Advisor Emile Ghori; Director of the Local Governance Sector Reform Program at the Belgian Agency for Development "ENABEL", Sirin Abu Jamous; Local Governance Sector Expert, Oday Al-Ja'bari; APLA's Executive Director, Eng. Abdallah Anati; and the General Director of Planning and Policies – Ministry of Local Government, Ohoud I'nayah; in addition to APLA's team.
APLA's President, Eng. Hadid, after welcoming the audience, clarified that this project is APLA's work cornerstone for the upcoming years, as it is connected to APLA's strategic priorities and the priorities of the local governance sector in Palestine as well as the Global Agenda for Sustainable Development 2030. He appreciated the role of the EU over the past years aiming at supporting decentralization in Palestine by supporting the local governance sector, indicating that APLA will continue and intensify the processes of lobbying, advocacy and representation in harmony with the Ministry of Local Government and the MDLF as key partners. He also pointed out the importance of the continuation and intensifying of the EU's support of the Palestinian National Authority at all levels.
On his turn, Head of Economic Development, Water/Energy, Area C and Trade – Office of the EU West Bank & Gaza, Charles Radout congratulated APLA for the level it succeeded to achieve saying, "Today, we congratulate you while we jointly celebrate our support of APLA as an extremely important element in the local governance sector. Empowering APLA will necessarily lead to enhance its capacities in performing its tasks and roles for the benefit of local authorities, and side by side with the Ministry of Local Government to advance the local governance sector in Palestine".
Director of the Local Governance Sector Reform Program at the Belgian Agency for Development "ENABEL", Sirin Abu Jamous, reconfirmed the continuity of supporting APLA, as a key and strategic partner, working clearly on enhances the capacities and contributions of local authorities in governance processes and development in the local governance sector.
Meanwhile, Emile Ghoury, LGRP-GIZ Technical Advisor, praised APLA's efforts, expressing his pride in the partnership combining APLA and LGRP, especially through the continuous support of the Technical and Legal Support Unit at APLA, and the Technical Hub Program, which allows local authorities multiple opportunities and horizons for the development of the services provided to citizens.
During the wrap up, APLA's Executive Director presented the key interventions to be implemented through the project, especially those related to the broad network of international relations APLA enjoy, as well as the opportunities it provides to local authorities to obtain international partnership with their counterparts around the world.
It is worth mentioning that the MAAP 2021-2025 project is implemented with a total contribution of 2,144,097 Euros as a basic funding from the EU and contributions from GIZ, ENABEL and APLA. The project was designed to enhance APLA's role as a representative of local authorities, enhance local authorities' cooperation in service provision and participatory local development, enhance the contributions to regional complementarity, especially in Area (C), as the specific goals of the projects are in line with APLA's strategic plan.
