Brown Does Brown

Did you know that a conference to promote Palestinian economic development opened in London today?

And that it "will contribute to the cause of peace in the Middle East, according to Gordon Brown."?

No?

Read on:

Speaking after talks with Salam Fayyad, prime minister of the Palestinian authority, Brown said there were "considerable opportunities" for economic partnership between Palestinians and the UK.

"The UK enjoys a close relationship with the Palestinian people and I hope today's conference will cement this. I hope in the coming days we can move further and faster towards the peace settlement that everyone wants to see happen," he said.

Brown and Fayyad spoke at a news conference before the opening of the two-day Palestine trade and investment forum, which is designed to give British investors an overview of business and investment opportunities in sectors including finance, infrastructure, information and communications technology, agribusiness and tourism development. A 40-strong [are all 40 strong?] Palestinian delegation is taking part.

..."Establishing a viable Palestinian state with a stable economy and flourishing private sector is a crucial part of this process," Brown said.

The forum taking place in the City would provide a chance to explore further opportunities for development...

Fayyad said the forum would be "a significant and important" step in the process of enabling the Palestinians to achieve their aspirations.

At the news conference Brown also criticised the Israelis for continuing to allow settlements to be build on the West Bank. "We have consistently called for Israel to dismantle settlements," he said.

Too bad that about dismantling. Would probably adversefully affect the Pal. economy just like their destrcution of the Gush Katif greenhouses did them little good and much bad.