Dubai, UAE – Israel’s energy minister and the CEO of the UAE’s renewable energy firm, Masdar, have met to advance a significant water-for-energy deal with Jordan, according to the Israeli energy ministry, as reported by a section of media.
The meeting was held in preparation for an anticipated signing ceremony at the COP28 conference, scheduled to be held in Dubai in November.
Israeli ministry’s statement did not specify the location of the meeting.
The meeting followed a successful ministerial gathering in Abu Dhabi last month, attended by Israel’s energy minister. Representatives from Masdar visited Israel earlier this month as part of the ongoing negotiations.
Under the proposed agreement, Jordan is set to provide solar energy generated from a UAE-funded facility to Israel. In return, Jordan will receive desalinated water from Israel. It’s worth noting that political and commercial agreements will need to be signed following the formal sealing of this deal.
This initiative was initially discussed in June when Israeli Energy Minister Israel Katz engaged with John Kerry, the US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate Affairs. At that time, Katz presented a plan to construct a 600 MW solar plant with storage in Jordan. Simultaneously, Israel aims to export 200 million cubic meters of desalinated water annually to its neighboring country.
The projects are known as “Prosperity Green” and “Prosperity Blue.”
The goal of the agreement is to address Jordan’s pressing need for water while helping Israel diversify its clean energy sources.
Jordan ranks as one of the world’s second-most water-scarce countries, as reported by UNICEF.
This development also underscores the broader diplomatic changes in the region, with the UAE becoming the third Arab nation, following Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994, to establish diplomatic relations with Israel after a 25-year period without such ties.