Barkat outlines J'lem economic vision in meeting with US Consul General

By ETGAR LEFKOVITS
Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat met Monday with the US Consul General to Jerusalem Jacob Walles, and expressed the hope that the US would move its embassy back to the capital during the Obama administration, the mayor's office said. The get-acquainted meeting, which was scheduled at Walles' request, dealt with US policy in the Middle East and "mutual issues of interest and concern" in Jerusalem, including east Jerusalem, Barkat's office said in a statement. Barkat outlined his vision for the economic development of the city, and his goal to bring 10 million tourists to Jerusalem in the next decade. Successive US administrations have held off moving the US embassy back to Jerusalem pending a final peace agreement between the Israelis and Palestinians.