Inside The Middle East

SHOW #40

IN FOCUS – Palestinian Future

Last year’s donor’s conference in Paris raised more than 7 billion dollars to build a future Palestinian state. This week, a new conference in Berlin hopes to lay the groundwork for that new state to operate. Hosted by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the summit focuses on security and judicial matters in the West Bank; including, the training and equipment needs of police and the construction of new courthouses. Officials like Mideast Envoy Tony Blair, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni are expected to attend. CNN’s Frederik Pleitgen reports.

FACETIME – Sir Ronald Cohen

While business leaders and politicians sit down in Berlin this week, MME sits down with the Chairman of The Portland Trust, Sir Ronald Cohen. The Portland Trust has been actively involved in encouraging stability in Palestine through economic development since it was founded in 2003. The organization has a number of projects in Palestine from housing to microfinance. Sir Ronald Cohen believes that the Palestinian economy is a coiled spring just waiting to bounce back. MME talks to him about his optimism for the stagnant economy, private sector investment and what the international community should be concentrating their efforts on.