Stakeholders from the Palestine industry and economic actors attended the meeting and were briefed on the major project goals; of developing a local pool of qualified service providers who will be able to assist industries in Palestine in the transition to a more resource efficient production; and the realization of industry pilot projects to demonstrate the business case of a resource efficient production in Palestine.

Mr. Zaghloul Samhan, the Director-General of Policies and Planning and SwitchMed National Focal Point at the EQA emphasized the importance of the MED TEST III component of SwitchMed “as it focuses on laying the basis for converting Palestinian industries from a linear to a more circular production.”

Mr. Said Dwikat UNIDO National Coordinator for the MED TEST III project in Palestine presented the project work plan and also launched a call for industry professionals interested for training on the UNIDO TEST approach.

Mr. Giacomo Miserocchi, from the EU Delegation in Jerusalem, underlined the sustainability aspects of MED TEST III “in building capacities of national service providers on the TEST methodology as well as switching from the demonstration companies to green industry”.

Scarce water supplies paired with high costs for energy and raw materials make the ability to produce more resource efficient imperative for industries in Palestine. To realize the transition towards more sustainable production models, industries need to utilize raw materials, energy and water more efficiently to save costs and resources. The UNIDO TEST methodology is an established step-by-step toolkit that can be integrated into various production sectors and enables businesses to identify cost-saving improvement measures within their facilities.

Under the MED TEST III project, industry demonstrations will be carried out to demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach in the context of Palestine. The demonstrations are also an integral part of the training of local service providers as they offer an “on-the-job-training” for service providers on the UNIDO TEST methodology.

Ms. Shifaa Abu Saadeh, Director General of the of Industry and Natural Resources at the MoNE and SwitchMed National Focal Point expressed her gratitude toward the EU and UNIDO for “this significant project” and emphasized, “that supporting the Palestinian industry is on the top of the ministry agenda and it is looking for more support to implement TEST Methodology in more industrial companies.”

Mr. Odeh Shadeh the secretary-general of the Palestinian Federation of Industries (PFI), suggested that “the PFI will have an important role in the project“ and emphasized the need to increase the number of demonstration companies in Palestine.

For more information on the MED TEST III activities in Palestine click here.