Vietnam fully backs the just fight of the Palestinian people to reclaim their basic rights, including the rights to self-determination and the establishment of an independent Palestinian State, Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Phuong Nga has declared.

At the second Conference on Cooperation among East Asian Countries for Palestinian Development (CEAPAD) in Jakarta on March 1, Nga made it clear that Vietnam supports all regional and global efforts to seek a comprehensive, fair and sustainable solution to the Israeli-Arabian/Palestinian conflict in harmony with the United Nations’ Resolutions, ensuring legitimate interests of all parties concerned for peace and stability in the region.

Chairing the event, Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said in his keynote remarks that the CEAPAD follows the United Nations’ January declaration of 2014 as an International Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.

Co-chairing the conference, Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said CEPAD is a key part of the Middle East peace process, stressing that it is time CEPAD moves “from discussion to action to realise its goals.”

Participants focused on discussing concrete capacity-building programmes to be utilised in Palestine.

After the two-day talks, they adopted the Joint Declaration “East Asia Partnership for Palestine” which will provide a platform to facilitate Middle East peace and work out a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine on the basis of UN resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative.

As part of the event, Nga also met with Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad mal-Maliki to discuss ways to further multifaceted cooperation between Palestine and Vietnam.

On the fringes of the event, the CEPAD business forum and trade exhibition also took place on March 1-2 to assist Palestinian firms, especially private ones.

This year’s CEPAD gathered 27 delegations representing 22 of its member nations, five international organisations and observer countries.

Initiated by Japan, the first CEPAD was held in Tokyo in February 2013, attracting nine member countries, including Vietnam, and four international organisations.-VNA