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Sweden to boost aid to Palestine by 50 pct: PM

Xinhua, February 11, 2015 Adjust font size:

Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said here on Tuesday that Sweden would increase its financial aid to Palestine by 50 percent.

In a press conference with visiting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Lofven said the Scandinavian country would increase financial aid to Palestine by 50 percent to 1.5 billion Swedish krona (about 180 million U.S. dollars) over the next five years.

Lofven emphasized that there was "no contradiction" between maintaining good relations with Palestine and continuing to keep good relations with Israel. As well, he said restarting the peace process was "of the utmost importance."

Abbas visited Sweden on Tuesday, where he met and held talks with Lofven and the Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom. Palestine opened an embassy in Stockholm on Tuesday night.

Sweden officially recognized the state of Palestine last October, the first major European Union nation to do so. Israel later briefly recalled its ambassador to Stockholm. (1 U.S. dollar = 8.32 SEK) Endit