Palestinian PM hails UN ''birth certificate'' (UN endorsement of readiness to govern)

[pampango]

http://english.aljazeera.net//news/europe/2011/04/2011413194451168413.html

Salam Fayyad says UN report and talks in Brussels "effectively recognise the reality of a state in Palestine".

Fayyad''s comments on Wednesday came as diplomats and donors met in Brussels to discuss Palestinian state-building efforts and follow up a UN report that assessed the Palestinian Authority as "sufficient for a functioning government of a state".

That assessment by the UN, World Bank and International Monetary Fund was backed by donors at the Brussels meeting.

Fayyad said that the talks in Brussels amounted to "a landmark event" after participants "effectively recognised the reality of a state of Palestine".

In the latest sign of slowly growing support for a Palestinian state, the European Union granted duty-free access to farming and fishing goods from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip as part of the talks. Participants, including Russia and the US, also backed observer status for the Palestinian Authority at the World Trade Organisation.