Joint statement on latest talks between Holy See and Palestine
(Vatican Radio) The following is a joint statement of the Bilateral Commission of
the Holy See and the State of Palestine at the conclusion of their plenary meeting
on 26th September 2013.
"On 26 September 2013, the Bilateral Commission
of the Holy See and the State of Palestine, which is working on a Global Agreement
following on the Basic Agreement, which was signed on 15 February 2000, held a Plenary
Session in the Vatican to acknowledge the work done at an informal level by the joint
technical group following the last official meeting held in Ramallah at the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs of the State of Palestine on 30 January 2013, and to plan future
progress, with the aim of accelerating the concluding of the Agreement.
The
talks were chaired by Mgr Antoine Camilleri, Under-Secretary for the Holy See’s Relations
with States, and by Ambassador Rawan Sulaiman, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs
for Multilateral Affairs of the State of Palestine.
The discussions took place
in a cordial and constructive atmosphere. Taking up the issues already examined at
an informal level, the Commission noted with great satisfaction the progress achieved
in formulating the text of the Agreement, which deals with essential aspects of the
life and activity of the Catholic Church in Palestine, and encouraged the efforts
of the joint technical group, urging it to complete the discussions on the remaining
parts of the text, the formulation of which is already at an advanced stage.
Both
Parties agree that the joint technical group will continue its work in preparation
for the next plenary meeting of the Bilateral Commission, planned for early 2014."
The
members of the Delegation of the Holy See were: 1. Mgr Antoine Camilleri, Under-Secretary
for Relations with States; 2. His Excellency Archbishop Giuseppe Lazzarotto, Apostolic
Delegate to Jerusalem and Palestine; 3. His Excellency Archbishop Antonio Franco,
Apostolic Nuncio; 4. Mgr Maurizio Malvestiti, Under-Secretary of the Congregation
for the Oriental Churches; 5. Mgr Waldemar Stanisław Sommertag, Official of the
Section for Relations with States of the Secretariat of State; 6. Fr Emil Salayta,
Judicial Vicar of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem.
The members of the Palestinian
Delegation were: 1. Ambassador Rawan Sulaiman, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs
for Multilateral Affairs; 2. Ambassador Issa Kassissieh, Representative of the
State of Palestine to the Holy See; 3. Mr Ammar Hijazi, Deputy Assistant Minister
of Foreign Affairs for Multilateral Affairs; 4. Mr Azem Bishara, Juridical Counsellor
of the PLO; 5. Mr Ammar Nisnas, Counsellor at the Permanent Mission of Palestine
to the Holy See.