Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, and Israel have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to continue feasibility studies for two interdependent and contingent projects aimed at the construction of a desalination plant on the Mediterranean Sea (Prosperity Blue) and a clean electric power plant in Jordan (Prosperity Green).
The MoU, which was signed on the sidelines of the COP27 summit in the Arab Republic of Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh, is “solely an expression of intent by the three parties and does not create or affect any legal rights or obligations under international laws,” according to memorandum text.
The memorandum is based on a declaration of intent signed by the three parties on the sidelines of the Dubai Expo on November 22, 2021 in the presence of US Presidential Special Envoy for Climate John Kerry.
The memorandum stipulates that the three parties will “endeavor to advance with the help and assistance of relevant international partners on a voluntary basis or when needed, subject to the agreement of all sides, the development of the necessary plans in time for the 28th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 28) to the UNFCCC scheduled to take place from 6-17 November 2023in the United Arab Emirates”.
The MoU was signed by Jordan’s Minister of Water and Irrigation, Muhammad Najjar, the UAE’s Minister of Climate Change and Environment, Mariam Almheiri, and Israel’s Minister of Regional Cooperation, Issaw Frej, on behalf of their respective governments.
The three governments signed a “Declaration of Intent” in Dubai in November 2021, which stipulated that the three parties begin examining the possibility of establishing two interdependent and contingent projects. The first project is a clean electric power plant in Jordan with a capacity of 600 kilowatts that is not connected to the national grid and is funded by the UAE. The second project is a desalination plant on the Mediterranean Sea, which will provide Jordan with 200 million cubic meters of desalinated water annually.
Source: Jordan News Agency