Paul Calvert attended the press conference

Mayor of Bethlehem Vera Baboun with Tony Blair

This morning Tony Blair, in his role as the Quartet Representative, visited Bethlehem for a press conference with Mayor Vera Baboun. Under discussion was tourism, the Bethlehem economy and the Gaza reconstruction. Paul Calvert attended.

Tony Blair: I have been here several times and it is great to come here to the centre of political life. Thank you so much. It's the first time here to the municipality.

Mayor Vera Baboun: Welcome to Bethlehem

Tony Blair: Thank you very much indeed it is great to be here. Can I say how particularly grateful I am to come. I know it has been a difficult and challenging time for everyone, but just to say that my office is working hard on the issues of tourism. We want to work with the municipality, to do everything we can to support it, in the work that you are doing Madame Mayor and to make sure that whatever happens with the politics of the situation, which we obviously want to alter, but in the meantime it's important to do what we can and to try and make sure that particularly with the tourism sector that it gets the support and help it needs and the investment.

Tony Blair signing a guestbook

Bethlehem is one of the great historic sites of the world. Its somewhere that people love to come, but I am sure many more people would like to come than do presently and I know we have got a lot of work to do together in order to make sure that that happens.

Mayor Baboun: Tourism should be the main target for keeping the city as a city and sustainable.

Tony Blair: I completely agree.

Journalist: I would like to know the specific objectives of this visit and any specific projects that you have in your plans too.

Mayor Vera Baboun presenting Tony Blair with a Nativity set

Tony Blair: We have worked with the international community on a plan for the Palestinian economy. Tourism is one major part of that and within the tourism sector we are trying to develop different hubs of tourism, one of which is Bethlehem. What we want to do is look at how we improve the quality of access into Bethlehem and the ability of Palestinians to be tour guides, the people who actually show people Bethlehem. We want to improve the quality of the offer that is there from the tourism sector and to get the investment in new facilities, in local business, so this is important for employment, it's important for the city and it's important for the future of a Palestinian State.

Danny Qumsieh from Radio Mawwal: What do you say to Palestinian people in this occasion of the holidays and what is your role in the recent construction of Gaza and do you think that your mission is going to face problems due to the differences between Fatah and Hamas?

Tony Blair and Mayor Vera Baboun with business people and politicians

Tony Blair: I think first of all in respect to the holidays, we need to make sure that as many people can come as easily as possible. That is not just about Christians, but about Arabs as well, so what we are trying to do is to make sure people can come through as easily as possible. Obviously the Christmas holidays is one of the major times of the year for you and for Bethlehem. You host one of the most important ceremonies in the Christian culture and religion, therefore what we should try and do is make sure it's as good as possible and as easy as possible to experience.

In respect to Gaza, reconstruction desperately needs to happen, with housing, electricity and water. The situation is one that is complicated frankly by the need to make sure that the Palestinian Authority comes back in charge in Gaza in a full way. I think you will know what the difficulties are in doing that, but whatever those difficulties are, it's important the international community is re-opening Gaza and making sure the reconstruction material comes in, allowing for example, for the trade to happen between Gaza and the West Bank, which has started, but we need to do a lot more. Probably the single most critical issue right now is energy and electricity.

Paul Calvert and Tony Blair

Paul Calvert: You brought peace to Northern Ireland in the Good Friday Agreement. Is the Middle East different?

Tony Blair: It's different in many respects, but it's the same in other respects. We succeeded in Northern Ireland because we had the leadership, commitment, hard work and determination. In the Good Friday Agreement, you got a fair agreement that people on both sides could see was fair and then you implemented it. What is necessary here is to get a clear agreement as to what a Palestinian State should look like, how it will function and then you have got to implement it. But the complication factor here is the occupation. Probably people in Northern Ireland felt it was the same, but I think it's a little different the way it operates here.