RAMALLAH, West Bank — While the United States continues to freeze its financial aid to the Palestinian Authority (PA) for refusing President Donald Trump’s decision to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and his "deal of the century," the PA is boosting its relations with other countries. Its aim is to mobilize for a political role far from the US sponsorship of the peace process and to develop economic relations with these countries and ensure their support.

The joint ministerial French-Palestinian committee meeting took place Dec. 8 in Paris. During the one-day meetings, spearheaded by Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah and his French counterpart Edouard Philippe, 10 agreements were signed in the fields of civil defense and security, agriculture and nutrition, higher education, technical and professional education, local governance, budget support, water and the environment, and development of the private sector.

This was the second meeting of the joint committee that was formed in 2015 following a decision by the Palestinian and French governments. The committee meets once every two years, and it held its first meeting in 2015 in Paris.

The work of the committee comes as part of the Palestinians’ efforts to push France to spearhead an international political role or form an international support group to sponsor the peace process. In addition, the PA wants France to recognize the State of Palestine and increase its financial support for the PA to make up for the dwindling US aid. The Palestinians are also seeking increased support from France for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, which suffered a budget crisis with Washington freezing its allocations for the agency.