Country has invested 109 million euros in the Middle East
Saxony-Anhalt Finance Minister Michael Richter (CDU) has rejected opposition demands to end investments in countries that support the terrorist organization Hamas. Richter said that the Left Party's motion left open which countries and companies were specifically meant. According to the CDU politician, Saxony-Anhalt currently has around 109 million euros - around 2.6 percent of its assets - invested in countries in the Middle East.
It was unacceptable that the terror of Hamas was being financed with taxpayers' money from Saxony-Anhalt, said the financial policy spokesperson for the Left Party parliamentary group, Kristin Heiß. A course correction was necessary here. It was incomprehensible that the Ministry of Finance did not want to make any changes to its investment strategy with regard to Qatar.
The Gulf emirate of Qatar maintains good relations with the Palestinian organization Hamas. Richter, on the other hand, said in parliament that it could not be proven that Qatar was financially supporting Hamas. However, the coalition partner SPD announced that it wanted to discuss the investment in the state. "I am in favor of disinvesting in this one particular case," said financial policy spokesperson Andreas Schmidt.
The decision to continue investing in Middle Eastern countries, despite oppositions' concerns about funding for Hamas, has positioned Saxony-Anhalt's Parliamentary finances in a contentious manner during this war of words. Despite the Gulf emirate of Qatar's association with Hamas finances, there's been no concrete evidence proving direct financial support, prompting discussions within the political alliance about potential disinvestment.
Source: www.dpa.com
