Dr. Dauod Zaatari Mayor of Hebron Municipality and Piero Fassino Mayor of Turin Municipality signed a twinning agreement and a joint cooperation in a number of areas and different sectors between the city of Hebron and the city of Turin in the presence of the Governor of Hebron 'Kamel Hamid’, the Italian Consul "Davide LaKsilaa", the President of Commerce and industry Chamber 'Khalil Mohammed Ghazi Herbawi’, the heads of universities in Hebron, businessmen and a number of official and legal persons in the province.
This twinning agreement will widen horizons for joint cooperation in areas related to the work of Hebron Municipality, thus improve the level of services provided in the sectors of water and sanitation, assist the development of human resources, and technical and advisory assistance. Furthermore, this agreement would assist in the exchange of expertise and in conveying the real situation of the city in terms of the political issues that Palestinian Citizens are suffering from due to the Israeli occupation and the continuous division of the city.
The agreement also included cooperation and partnership between the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Hebron and its counterpart in the Italian city of Turin, in addition to the networking between the heads of universities in Hebron with the heads of universities in the city of Turin, as well as between Palestinian businessmen from Hebron with their Italian counterparts in Turin.
The agreement was signed in a Convention ceremony in which Dr. Zaatari welcomed the Italian delegation which represented the entire sectors of the city of Turin led by the Mayor Piero Fassino. Dr. Zaatari expressed his gratitude to the people of Turin for the support that the Italian government, people and institutions showed towards the Palestinian cause and their support for the rights of the Palestinian people, in addition to the developmental support given to the Palestinian Provinces in general and to the city of Hebron in particular.
Dr. Zaatari stated the importance of the agreement economically due to the significance of the two cities in the industry and presence of the resources that would help in the success of the cooperation and in achieving the common interests between the two cities in an attempt to create new jobs and reduce the level of unemployment in the city of Hebron. This is considered to be one of the priorities of the Municipality Council that needs to be achieved.
Furthermore, Dr. Zaatari stated that Hebron Municipality seeks to support all sectors in Hebron through the creation of international and Arab partnerships, thus creating a state of communication between all institutions in Hebron with their counterparts in the world; not ing the agreements on Hebron municipality and other city municipalities.
In addition, Fassino expressed his pleasure to visit the city of Hebron and recognize the great advancement that Hebron Municipality reached despite the presence of obstacles and difficulties that s their ability to implement the various strategies in the development process.
He also showed his desire to the success of the agreement between the two cities in various projects in the field of services, economy, and culture and strengthen the bonds of cooperation and communication between the institutions of the city of Hebron and their counterparts in the city of Turin to be a bridge to achieve the common goals relating to further development of R & D.
The governor Hamid stressed on the firm bonds that unites the Palestinian and the Italian political leaderships that are illustrated by the approaches taken by the Italian government towards the legitimate rights of the Palestinians that are guaranteed by international laws and conventions.
The Consul LaKsilaa concluded the conference by showing his desire to assist in further cooperation between the Palestinian cities and Italian cities in an attempt to help the Palestinian people reinforce their destinies. He also illustrated the Italian governments’ support to achieve peace. He also expressed his desire to achieve a better life for the Palestinians and support the city of Hebron through various projects in different fields.
Lastly, a meeting was held between the heads of Palestinian universities and heads of Italian universities to observe the means for the success of the cooperation agreement in the academic field.
A second session was held between the Palestinian and Italian Commerce and Industry Chambers to discuss the economic and trade cooperation.
And a third session was held that brought Palestinian businessmen with their Italian counterparts; in addition to a meeting between technical and administrative employees of the two municipalities.