Ramallah – The undersecretary of the MoNE Dr. Tayseer Amr has stated on Monday June 8th, 2015 that the PSDCP is considered a successful mechanism to overcome the obstacles facing a number of promising economic sectors, such as the Furniture and Leather and Shoe clusters.

 

Dr. Amr has also pointed out that this project has contributed to the organization of the furniture sector, especially in Salfit, through the support and restructuring of enterprises and sub-sectors of high growth potentials, and finding common links between the owners of small, medium and micro-sized enterprises within the sector.

 

Director General of Industrial Development at the Ministry Mrs. Manal Farhan emphasized the importance of implementing this cluster project as part of the development of the Palestinian private sector, pointing out that the project aims to enhance the competitiveness of local companies, especially the small and medium-sized ones to increase their share in the domestic market and to find new markets to export to.

 

Mrs. Farhan added that "this methodology offers the possibility to address all the different needs and to form a proper mechanism to intervene in the economy, where it combines the dynamics of working on the ground and inside the industrial enterprises with the ability to communicate and dialogue with the necessary institutions in a realistic bottom-up approach and to contribute in shaping the appropriate policies on the macroeconomic level.”

 

As for the nature of the achievements and successes of the cluster project in the furniture sector, Ahmad Amer, one of the furniture cluster representatives in Salfit, said "that the project contributed to the promotion of the public-private dialogue culture, through institutionalizing and organizing the work within the sector in collaboration with the Ministry of National Economy and the Federation of Palestinian Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture where a Board of Directors for the cluster has been formed. Moreover, there are undergoing negotiations to develop and create a legal body for the furniture cluster in Salfit. "

 

Dr. Amer has also pointed out that the cluster worked on strengthening the tripartite partnership between the public, the private and the academic sectors signing the first Memorandum of Understanding with the academic sector in Palestine, on the establishment of the Development and Innovation center for furniture in cooperation with each of An-Najah National University, the Ministry of National Economy,  Salfit’s Chamber of Commerce and industry and the Furniture Cluster, which will be funded by the French Agency for Development (AFD).

 

Dr. Amer has also noted that the cluster is launching its own website. The cluster which includes more than 50 enterprises at the moment, most which located in Area “C” has participated in international exhibition such as the Palestinian products exhibition in Kuwait, which was organized last year.

 

An interview on this matter was conducted with Mrs. Manal Farhan. You can check it from here: https://www.facebook.com/PalestineTv/videos/903453886391273/