On January 22^nd 2009, Mr. Al Zaeem met Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mr. John Holmes, during his visit to the Gaza Strip. Discussions focused on humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, and Mr. Al Zaeem urged Mr. Holmes to do all that he could to open the boarder crossings into Gaza, and discussed the possibility of providing assistance to the private sector in Gaza so that people can get back to work rather than remaining listed as hardship cases.