APLA President Eng. Musa Hadid participated in the LGUs Conference for International Cooperation in Palestine on “The Role of LGUs in localizing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”. This came in the presence of the Consul General of Italy in Jerusalem Giuseppe Fidel, at the conclusion of a series of workshops during the last quarter of 2020 on the role of LGUs in social and economic development by presenting the experiences of Italian and Palestinian municipalities in these areas, the “Bee the change” project.

Eng. Hadid began his participation by pointing out the importance of decentralized cooperation between countries as it is the most effective and sustainable, explaining that the Bee the change project is one of the most important projects that can be built on in the future as it targets geographical areas that are less fortunate within the Palestinian context, in the same manner, it revolves around strengthening Palestinian steadfastness by focusing on the issues of agriculture, farmers, land, the role of local government institutions and international cooperation on the other hand.

On the repercussions of the Corona pandemic on achieving development at the local level, Eng. Hadid said, “We need the shortest path to recovery. There is an urgent need to reformulate the projects and priorities of LGUs within the 2030 SDGs, taking into account the effects and repercussions of the pandemic,” adding that LGUs are more capable than any other government level of leading the recovery process, as it is the closest to the citizen and the most capable of dealing with their needs.

Eng. Hadid explained that APLA seeks at this stage to build on this project, expand the pool of beneficiaries and activities included in its work, and enhance cooperation between APLA and FELCOS Umbria, especially in the development stage, as APLA is best able to identify the priorities and needs of its members, stressing the need to strengthen this decentralized cooperation between Palestine and Italy through the relationships that the LGUs establish with their Italian counterparts.

During the conference, the Mayor of Arraba, Ahmed Arda reviewed the experience of the Arraba municipality in supporting local economic and social development, supporting cooperative societies and creating job opportunities for the town’s people in the agricultural sector. He pointed to the success stories achieved by the municipality in this regard, and the challenges that do not start with the impact of a pandemic. “Corona” does not end with Israeli practices and attacks that aim to harass the Palestinians.