Japan's Ceapad A Unique Platform For Palestine's Capacity Building, Long-term Development
By Nabilah Saleh
KUALA LUMPUR, July 7 (Bernama) -- Japan views the upcoming Fourth Conference on Cooperation among East Asian Countries for Palestinian Development (CEAPAD), which it will co-host with Malaysia, as a unique and strategic platform to strengthen capacity building and sustainable development in Palestine, going beyond emergency relief.
The conference, scheduled to take place here Friday, will be held in conjunction with the 58th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting (AMM) and related meetings.
Japanese Ambassador to Malaysia Noriyuki Shikata said CEAPAD stands apart from other forums by focusing on long-term solutions, including institutional resilience, education, and economic self-reliance for the Palestinian people.
He noted that Japan has long collaborated with institutional organisations such as the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and the World Bank to support institutional development in Palestine.
'CEAPAD is a unique platform. While the situation in Palestine is often addressed in political or humanitarian terms, this forum focuses on what comes after, on capacity building and institutional strengthening.
'Japan has been working with UNRWA, the World Bank, and other institutional organisations to help Palestinians, and CEAPAD complements those efforts by bringing in perspectives and expertise from East Asian countries,' he told Bernama in an exclusive interview recently.
He added that Japan, as the initiator of CEAPAD in 2013, is committed to working with partners like Malaysia to coordinate recovery and reconstruction, particularly amid the current devastation in Gaza.
'Given the scale of destruction, it is crucial that we help the Palestinian people rebuild their lives with dignity. Malaysia has been a consistent CEAPAD participant since the beginning, and we value this shared commitment to the Palestinian cause,' he said.
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