Hebron Mayor Khaled Osaily met on the 20th of December at his office with a delegation from the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) with a view to reviewing and discussing projects implemented by the Municipality in cooperation with GIZ, mainly the project for the development of the Customer Services Center, as well as discussing  the possibility of organizing an international conference on e-municipalities in Palestine. The German delegation comprised Mr. Jürgen Wilhelm, GIZ Managing Director, Mr. Rudolf Rogg, GIZ Country Director, as well as several GIZ staff.

At the beginning of his speech, Osaily valued the role played by GIZ in supporting development projects in Hebron as well as efforts made recently to enhance local government projects, help improve the infrastructure and support Palestinians in general. Osaily presented his vision on how to enhance services and improve their quality, then spoke about the Strategic Plan endorsed by the Municipal Council as well as projects executed during the past few years especially in the field of youths and sports. “We are working to promote youths and sports by providing the basis for developing skills and by encouraging young people to become more creative and outstanding thanks to a set of vital projects including Al Hussein Stadium, the Indoors Sports Hall, Tarek Ibn Ziyad Community Center and the Korean-Palestinian Cultural Center”, he added.

Osaily called on the GIZ to provide additional support to projects in the city and to continue efforts in support of Palestinians. He lauded efforts made by GIZ and other German institutions working in Palestine. He then underlined efforts made by his Municipality to turn into an e-municipality by next year. “80% of the necessary work and infrastructure has been completed and we see many indicators of success at the Customer Services Center thanks to its partnership with all key sections in Hebron Municipality”, he said.

Osaily then suggested organizing an international conference on e-municipalities in Hebron with a view to exchanging experiences and providing Palestinian municipalities with the latest developments in this field. “This would help Hebron Municipality take another step towards providing all its services electronically”, he added.

The delegation then toured Hebron Municipality and was briefed by the heads of the GIS Section and the Customer Services Center about their services. Jürgen Wilhelm expressed his admiration of the technical, scientific and administrative developments at the Municipality’s sections, underlining their role in sharing their experience with other Municipalities. “It is very important to benefit from the experience of Hebron Municipality in a number of fields and to share this experience with other Palestinian municipalities and institutions in order to enhance services and built complementarity among Palestinian institutions”, he said.