The ministers of water, energy and the environment of Jordan, Israel and the UAE signed a landmark deal in Dubai on 22 November that envisages Jordan supplying Israel with 600MW of electricity in return for up to 200mn m³ per year of desalinated water, with feasibility studies set to commence next year.
The preliminary deal – a ‘declaration of intent’ – has been heavily backed by the US, with Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry also present at the signing ceremony. Having already heavily invested in last year’s ‘Abraham Accords’ which normalized relations between Israel and the UAE – and subsequently Morocco too (MEES, 26 November) – the US hopes such energy cooperation programs will cement Israel’s relations with other regional countries. (CONTINUED - 906 WORDS)
