Israel, Jordan move forward with water-for-energy deal

Israel and Jordan on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to move ahead with a water-for-energy deal after an initial examination of the project proved it to be feasible. The idea, first announced a year ago, is for Jordan to build 600 megawatts of solar generating capacity that would be exported to Israel.

Israel and Jordan on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to move ahead with a water-for-energy deal after an initial examination of the project proved it to be feasible. The idea, first announced a year ago, is for Jordan to build 600 megawatts of solar generating capacity that would be exported to Israel. In return, Israel would provide water-scarce Jordan with 200 million cubic metres of desalinated water.

The MOU was signed at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt at an event hosted by the United Arab Emirates, who in 2020 became the first Gulf state to normalise relations with Israel and has been a partner in the project. The Middle East is highly vulnerable to climate change and this will be the first such cooperation between the countries.