The foreign affairs chief for the European Union Catherine Ashton has said that EU is committed to Palestinian statehood and improving the situation in Gaza. Catherine Ashton traveled to Gaza today where she met with officials from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency. Yesterday she met Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in Ramallah and announced the allocation of 52 million dollars in direct financial support from the EU to the Palestinian Authority. Ashton said that statehood is critical for any lasting peace in the region. She called on Israel to fully implement its revised policy toward Gaza, which would allow more goods into the region. Ashton also announced the launch of a joint recovery program which aims to support private sector development in Gaza territory in order to revitalize the economy. Ashton is in West Asia for a three-day visit. Her trip corresponds with a visit by U.S. envoy George Mitchell, who is pushing for Israeli-Palestinian direct peace talks.Meanwhile, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has called for unimpeded humanitarian aid access to Gaza and resumption of West Asia peace talks.The draft document of the foreign ministers' annual talks, which begin in Vietnam tomorrow says, the ASEAN strongly condemns the May 31 Israeli military raid on an aid flotilla bound for the Gaza Strip. In their draft, the ministers called for a resumption of negotiations for a final, just and comprehensive settlement.