Israel, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates signed a memorandum of understanding today in Sharm al-Sheikh, Egypt, to accelerate the implementation of a cooperation deal on a water project in exchange for clean electricity signed in Jordan a year ago known as the Prosperity projects.
In the 2021 agreement, Jordan committed to creating a solar facility funded and managed by the Emiratis and providing some of its output to Israel, and Israel committed to providing Jordan with 200 million cubic meters of water a year from its new desalination plant.
The project has been criticized both in the Emirates and in Israel for advancing too slowly because of bureaucratic hurdles. The MOU is designed to reduce these obstacles.
Today’s MOU was signed on the sidelines of the COP27 climate conference. Israel was represented by Regional Cooperation Minister Esawi Frej, the Jordanian side by Water Minister Mohammad Al Najjar and the Emirates by the Minister of the Environment Mariam Al Mheiri. The ceremony was attended by US President Joe Biden’s climate envoy John Kerry.
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