Posted on 11/17/21
| News Source: i24
The agreement is the result of secret negotiations between the three countries over several months
Israel and Jordan are set to sign an energy and water cooperation agreement mediated by the United Arab Emirates next week.
The agreement will create a solar power plant in the Jordanian desert that will generate electricity for Israel, as well as a desalination facility in Israel for Jordan, Walla reported.
It is the result of secret negotiations between the three countries over several months. The agreement was reportedly supposed to be signed at the COP26 conference in Glasgow, Scotland, but Prime Minister Naftali Bennett requested it be delayed until after budget votes.
The Walla report claims that the United States is aware of and involved with the project, stating that the United States special envoy on climate John Kerry spoke with Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and Jordanian King Abdullah about the project.
Kerry, Israeli Energy Minister Karine Elharrar, Jordanian Water Minister Mohammed Al-Najjar and UAE special envoy on climate change Sultan Ahmed Al Jabar will be part of signing the deal.
The electricity that Israel will purchase from the Jordanian solar farm is expected to account for roughly 8 percent of the total renewable energy that Israel will use in 2030 and 2 percent of Israel's electricity consumption, according to Walla.
"Strengthening relations with Jordan is a strategic national interest and this project will do that and also bring in money," said a senior Israeli official via Walla.