Brussels- Head of the water authority, Eng. Mazen Ghoneim signed officially the invitation to be addressed to the donor countries to participate in the international donors' conference, scheduled on 20 March, which aims to complete the necessary funding to start the Project of desalination plant which cost $650 million.

The signing ceremony took place on advocacy at EU headquarters, in the presence of Dr Abdul Rahim Al-Farra Palestinian Ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg and the European Union.

The invitation comes with the joint signing of the Palestinian government, represented by Eng. Mazen Ghoneim, and the European Commissioner for Good Neighbor John Hans, and the Secretary-General of the Union for the Mediterranean, Fathallah Sijelmassi.

It should be noted that this project is a strategic option for saving catastrophic water situation in Gaza Strip, to insure life for more than 2 million people in Gaza Strip, in addition to improving the water situation which will reflect positively on all the different development sectors.

Head of Water Authority, Eng. Mazen Ghoneim, held a series of intensive international meetings, in preparation for the international donor conference planned on 20 March in Brussels, to complete the necessary funding to start the Central station project in Gaza worth $ 650 million.

Ghoneim also held several intensive meetings to confirm the Dutch Government participation and support for the international donors’ conference, to implement the largest water project in Palestine which will save 2 million citizens in Gaza of a possible humanitarian disaster.

In the presence of the Ambassador of Palestine to Netherlands,  Rowan Abu Yusuf Ghoneim presided over three consecutive meetings, during which ,he met with the Assistant Secretary of State for international cooperation , Reina Boyce , in  the Dutch Foreign Ministry .

Eng. Ghonaim briefed the audience on the situation of the water sector in Palestine, and the challenges facing the development of this sector and highlighted the strategic water projects, such as the central station project in Gaza, stressing the need the participation and support of the Netherlands at the Conference.

For her part, Reina Boyce welcomed the visit by the Minister, and inform them of the project components and stressed the importance of creating this project, being urgent and extends the Strip by water and contributes to preserving the environment. Reina stressed that the Netherlands will support the international donor conference planned on 20 March in Brussels.

Ghoneim met a member of the Dutch Parliament's Foreign Relations Committee, Martin halfert, Special Envoy of the Netherlands, Henk Ofenk. Ghoneim briefed them on the water situation in Palestine in general and in the Gaza Strip in particular, in the talk of international institutions about a possible disaster in 2020 and his emphasis on the need for participation and support of the Netherlands at the Conference for the completion of financial support for starting the implementation of the project.

In return, the Dutch side welcomed the visit and confirmed to support and participate in the donors ' Conference.

These meetings are part of intensive international visits for the head of the Water Authority to mobilize support and ensure broad participation and support in the donor conference, to turn the dream into a reality in Central station project to provide and improve water service to the residents of the Gaza Strip.