Israeli, Palestinian Authority ministers discuss economy

The talks were focused on economic proposals to improve life for the Palestinians. The two ministers agreed to meet once a month or once every six weeks
 
Israeli and Palestinian Authority Cabinet ministers met last week for the first time since Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu took office in March. The talks between Vice Prime Minister Silvan Shalom and Palestinian Authority Minister for National Economy Bassem Khoury were focused on economic proposals to improve life for the Palestinians. The two men met at a Jerusalem King David Hotel.
 
Officials say the agenda includes proposals to ease restrictions on the entry of Palestinian businesspeople and VIPs to Israel. They also want to boost Israeli meat exports to the West Bank and dairy imports from the West Bank to Israel and increase medical treatment for Palestinians in Israel.
 
They also are to discuss joint industrial parks meant to further what Netanyahu has termed an "economic peace." After the meeting Shalom said that it was "positive and gives hope for economic peace."
 
At the conclusion of the meeting, the two ministers agreed to meet once a month or once every six weeks. It was also decided that joint teams should be set up to work together on a daily basis. Shalom and Khoury also discussed the industrial zone in Jenin, the Christian pilgrimage site Qasr al-Yahud on the Jordan River, and other joint projects.