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Tony Blair welcomes Wataniya mobile phone launch to boost Palestinian economy
Sunday, Nov 01, 2009 in Office of Tony Blair, Office of the Quartet Representative
Quartet Representative Tony Blair today welcomed the launch of the Wataniya mobile phone operator in Palestine, a flagship project which will increase competition and boost investment in the Palestinian economy.
Mr. Blair, who helped broker the agreement that was announced at the May 2008 Palestine Investment Conference in Bethlehem and who has been intimately involved subsequently in efforts to help bring the project to fruition, stated that "the launch of Wataniya will provide the largest injection of foreign direct investment into the Palestinian economy, creating thousands of jobs.
"The launch will also provide a welcome boost to the Palestinian Authority and the Government's work to attract Arab and international investment to the Palestinian Territory."
The deal was agreed between the Government of Israel and the Quartet Representative in May 2008 and was further specified in a bilateral agreement between the PA and Israel in July 2008.
The introduction of a second mobile phone company will inject US$ 700 million in investment, $354 million in fiscal revenue for the PA, and will create thousands of jobs.
The Government of Israel has assured Quartet Representative Blair that it will assign Wataniya the full 4.8 Mhz frequencies it requires for the company to operate successfully. To date, 3.8 Mhz has been released.
Mr. Blair urged the Government of Israel to release the remaining 1Mhz of frequency as soon as possible.