Global Courant
A tripartite agreement is expected to be signed at the COP28 conference in Dubai in November.
Israel’s Energy Minister and the CEO of UAE renewable energy company Masdar have met to promote a water-for-energy deal with Jordan, according to the Israeli Ministry of Energy.
The aim of the meeting on Tuesday was to advance the projects ahead of an expected signing at the annual UN climate conference COP28 to be held in Dubai in November, the ministry said in a statement.
The statement did not specify where the meeting was held, but said it followed the “successful ministerial meeting” that took place in Abu Dhabi last month in the presence of Israel’s energy minister, and a visit by Masdar’s representatives to Israel earlier this month .
Under the proposed deal, Jordan will supply solar energy from a UAE-funded plant to Israel and receive desalinated water from Israel in return.
The Times of Israel reported that political and commercial agreements will have to be signed after the deal is concluded.
In June, Israeli Energy Minister Israel Katz discussed the projects with US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate Affairs John Kerry.
He presented a plan to build a 600 MW solar power plant with storage in Jordan, and for Israel to export 200 million cubic meters of desalinated water per year to its neighboring country, the Energy Ministry said at the time.
The projects are known as Prosperity Green and Prosperity Blue respectively.
The agreement is intended to meet Jordan’s water needs and Israel’s goal to grow its clean energy mix. According to UNICEF, Jordan is the second most water-scarce country in the world.
The UAE became only the third Arab nation, after Egypt (1979) and Jordan (1994), to establish diplomatic ties with Israel, ending a 25-year period without such ties.
