Khaled Osaily. خالد العسيلي رئيس بلدية الخيل السابق خالد العسيلي
Hebron Mayor KhaledOsaily took part in the Economic Forum of the Mediterranean City (MEDA CITY FORUM 2010) held last week in Barcelona. The Forum discussed potentials for new partnerships between Mediterranean cities and was attended by a large number of mayors and executives from Mediterranean cities.
During a session attended by Beirut Mayor Dr. Bilal Hammad, Chairman of the Aleppo Chamber of Commerce, members of the Municipal Councils of Rabat (Morocco) and Arezzo (Italy), UNHABITAT representative and Deputy Director of Local Development in the region of Barcelona, Osaily presented a paper on Public-Public and Public-Private partnerships.In his paper, Osaily highlighted obstacles imposed by the Israeli Occupation on Palestinians which hinder development and potential partnerships. He also touched on freedom of movement and trade restrictions and the consequences thereof on conditions in Palestine. He detailed the program implemented by the Palestinian government chaired by PM Salam Fayyad which aims at building a Palestinian State and putting an end to occupation, a program fully backed by President Abbas who also supports strengthening public-public and public-private partnerships. The Bethlehem Investment Conference, Osaily added, is a good example of open policies implemented by the Palestinian government to ensure economic development and to support sound local development on all levels.Osaily also touched on the role played by the Palestinian Investment Fund to enhance public-private partnerships and to build the capacities of the private sector. He spoke in detail about development projects implemented by his Municipality including Al Hussein Stadium, the indoor sports hall, cultural centers throughout the city as well as the development of Hebron’s e-Municipality to limit bureaucracy and facilitate access to municipal services.
Osaily gave examples of fruitful partnerships in Palestinian governorates, such as the Joint Council for the Management of Solid Waste in Bethlehem and Hebron Governorates, the initiative to inscribe the Old City of Hebron on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in cooperation with Belfort and Arceuil municipalities in France, the development of the water sector in cooperation with Genoa municipality in Italy, partnerships with private sector and with Hebron’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Hebron Businessmen Forum and various development projects implemented by the Municipality through the private sector.
On the sidelines of the Conference, Osaily met with Beirut Mayor to discuss means to enhance cooperation between the two institutions and to activate joint action frameworks established during the past few days.Osaily congratulated Mayor Hammad on winning the confidence of his city’s inhabitants who elected him as Mayor. Mayor Hammad deserves this trust, Osaily said, wishing him success at the service of his city and its inhabitants. He hoped to see cooperation increase between Beirut and Hebron.
