The Joint Technical Committee ( Ministry of Economy , Palestinian Standards and Metrology Institution, Union of Stone and Marble) approved a mechanism for developing the stone and marble sector, and protecting the national product to enhance its export capabilities.

The Joint Technical Committee stated that it is in the process of developing executive procedures, foremost of which is tracking imports of stone, so that they are within the approved quarantine specification, which is considered one of the tools for protecting Palestinian stone, in addition to linking the certificate of origin with the classification of stone.

It confirmed that it will re-evaluate the financial values declared in the process of importing and exporting stone and marble, in addition to designing more programs that would contribute to regulating the stone and marble sector and enhancing its competitiveness in foreign markets.

The President of the General Federation of Stone and Marble, Nassar Nassar, explained that the next stage aims to protect our national product (Palestinian stone), and this requires new steps that will advance this promising sector, and serve the Palestinian factory and exporter of stone and the economy in general.

In turn, the Director General of the General Department of Trade at the Ministry of National Economy, Manal Al-Desouki, appreciated the efforts made by the Ministry of Economy to develop this sector, whose contribution to the industrial sector amounted to about 20%, and 86 companies operating in this sector were able to penetrate about 80 export markets.

She drew attention to the project to enhance the competitiveness of Palestinian building stone products in the markets of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, which was implemented with the Palestinian Stone Union.

She indicated that an action plan was signed with the Jordanian Ministry of Trade between the two countries to increase trade exchange to reach $700 million.

El-Desouki called on companies to benefit from entering the Algerian market, as the negative list was canceled, which was a challenge from entering the Algerian market, but now there is a real opportunity that can be exploited in the Algerian market.

She pointed out that it was agreed to exclude containers loaded with Palestinian stone from the Saudi customs decision to prevent the transit of any consignment (transit or transit) that is not loaded inside tightly closed containers, with the exception of goods that cannot be placed in containers.

And it revealed discussions with the Indonesian and Malaysian government to exempt a list of Palestinian products from customs duties when exported to their markets, and among the lists (the stone), in addition to communication with the Iraqi government so that Palestine would obtain an exception from the implementation of Resolution (293) regarding the collection of customs duties on the countries’ exports to the market. Iraqi.

Al-Desouki stressed keenness to participate in specialized international exhibitions in this field, and to expand relations with the various countries with which agreements were signed, which would enhance national exports.

In turn, the Director General of the Palestinian Standards Institution, Haider Hajjah, reviewed the services provided by the institution in favor of protecting the national product and expanding the production base in Palestine, in addition to highlighting the importance of mandatory technical instructions and specifications in protecting the national product and enhancing its competitiveness at the local and international levels.

Hajjah stressed the importance of the international effort led by the corporation to develop national exports, by opening new markets for the national product, by recognizing conformity certificates, in addition to providing the infrastructure to conduct the necessary tests and standards.

The Director General of the Federation also presented the most important economic indicators, which reflect the importance of stone exports, and their contribution to narrowing the gap in the trade balance with the most important markets, as well as clarifying the importance of enhancing the positive impression of the Palestinian product in the development of exports, since this issue is considered a fundamental pillar in the competitiveness of this product.