Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 12 February 2009
65 Deputy Ruairí Quinn asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs, further to a previous parliamentary question in the answer to which he made reference to the proposed establishment of a Middle East peace process secretariat, the progress made on this initiative during the previous French Presidency of the European Union; and the further progress being made under the Czech stewardship. [5204/09]
View answerAs I have said previously, depending on developments in the Middle East Peace Process, the establishment of a permanent secretariat could be considered, in order to add focus to the work of the Quartet and the various international envoys active in the region. However, at present I am not aware of any specific proposals under consideration by the parties to the process.
Separate from the issue of a permanent Quartet Secretariat, the office of the Quartet Special Representative, Tony Blair, already provides a degree of institutional support to the negotiating process. Mr. Blair and his advisers are active in helping to mobilise international assistance to the Palestinian people, securing support for addressing the institutional needs of the Palestinian Authority, and developing plans to promote Palestinian economic development. Provision has also been made, under the arrangements agreed at the Annapolis Conference in November 2007, for regular ongoing meetings of Palestinian and Israeli officials at various levels.
