Foreign leaders to visit Palestine

The Palestinian government will have a busy month in March. A number of European leaders are expected to visit the Palestinian areas and meet with President Yasser Arafat and a number of ministers.

Minister of planning and international cooperation, Dr. Nabil Shaath said that on March 18 the Italian president will visit Gaza to meet with President Arafat. Two days later, he said, Austria's chancellor will follow. He added that the British minister of foreign office is due to arrive on March 17 while the Dutch minister of international cooperation is arriving in the Palestinain areas on March 9 for a two-day visit.

Shaath noted that all those visits will help promote a more effective European role in Middle East politics. Meanwhile, Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa is due to head an Egyptian delegation of businessmen who will be arriving in the Palestinian areas on March 18 to sign an economic cooperation treaty between the two sides.

Shaath is currently visiting Germany to sign a cooperation contract and is expected to leave next week to France where he is due to meet with French foreign minister and discuss with him the stalled peace talks on the Palestinian-Israel track, Palestinian sources said.

Germany pays between $60 to $70 million annually in the form of financial support to Palestine. German aid this year, Palestinian sources said, is being used to cover the cost of the Gaza sewage system. Last year, it covered the cost of the Nablus sewage system.