West Bank and Gaza Investment Guarantee Trust Fund insures agriculture investment

The project is being implemented by Nakheel Palestine for Agricultural Investment Co.

The MIGA-administered fund, whose current sponsors include the Palestinian Authority and the government of Japan, was established in 1997 to assist the Palestinian National Authority in attracting investment into the West Bank and Gaza through the provision of political risk guarantees.

The investors and guarantee holders include Al Mashriq Real Estate Company, The Palestinian Recycling Company (Tadweer), and Palestine Industrial Estates Development Company. Siraj Fund is also an investor in Nakheel. The company will mainly produce Medjool dates and Medjool seedlings. Nakheel is planting the palm trees and will harvest, store, and pack the dates. Nakheel estimates that 20% of the dates will be supplied to the local market, while the remaining 80% will be exported mainly to the European market.

"Investment in agriculture has really declined due to restrictions on movement and water access," says Samir Hulileh - Nakheel's Chairman. "With MIGA's backing, we are confident about moving forward with this investment that will help generate jobs and foreign exchange earnings. We hope others will follow."

"This project represents a critical milestone for MIGA," says Executive Vice President Izumi Kobayashi. "It is only the second investment we have been able to support since the establishment of the Trust Fund in 1997. Despite great efforts, we have found that investors remain deeply concerned about political uncertainties. We hope that the Trust Fund's participation in this project will help generate interest from other potential investors in the agriculture sector in the West Bank."