(Communicated by the Foreign Minister's Bureau)
Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Tzipi Livni left for New York to head an Israeli delegation to the UN General Assembly.
FM Livni will attend and address a high-level event to be held at the UN (Monday, September 24th) entitled "Addressing the Leadership Challenge of Climate Change", in which heads of state and top officials from over 150 countries will participate. FM Livni will also take part in and address a meeting of the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee of the Conference of Donor States.
During the course of her visit, FM Livni will be meeting with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, with the Secretary General of NATO, and with political and religious leaders from all over the world. She is scheduled to address the 62nd Session of the UN General Assembly on October 1st.
The Ad Hoc Liaison Committee of the Conference of Donor States is a framework which was formed at the Ministerial Conference held in Washington D.C. in October 1993, several days after the signing of the Israel-Palestinian Interim Agreement, with the aim of aiding the Palestinian economy. The system is aimed at promoting Palestinian infrastructure projects and to creating the ability for the PA to promote its independent abilities.
The Committee members are: Norway (permanent chair), the UN Secretary-General (co-chair at the current conference), the United States and the EU (co-sponsors), Tony Blair (special envoy of the Quartet to the Middle East), the World Bank (secretariat), Canada, Japan, Russia, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia. The work of the donor community is based on tripartite cooperation between the Palestinian Authority, Israel and the donor states.
The current conference is being convened to promote the Palestinian Authority's abilities at the governmental level and the challenges it faces in the political and economical spheres.
Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Tzipi Livni is heading the Israeli delegation to the conference. Additional members of the delegation include senior representatives of the Israel Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Finance and a representative of the Government Coordinator of Activities in the Territories.