State of Israel to double the amount of water supplied to Jordan

Israeli water tank along the Jordanian border, in the south of Lake Tiberias.

AFP - MENAHEM KAHANA

Text by: RFI Follow

1 min

Israel exporter of water.

In an arid Middle East, the Hebrew state, a leader in desalination, has just signed an agreement with Jordan for the sale of this precious natural resource.

Every year, the Hashemite kingdom already receives millions of cubic meters of Israeli water free of charge.

Now the quantity is doubled.

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With our correspondent in Jerusalem,

Once a water-poor country, Israel is taking matters into its own hands following a severe drought that hit the region in the late 1990s.

Little by little, the Hebrew state is investing in desalination, until it becomes a world leader.

Its mastery of new technologies leads to a reduction in the cost of treating salt water, and thus meets its local consumption.

Israel can therefore now afford to export water from Lake Tiberias.

The largest freshwater reserve in the country, it is located in the northeast, near the Jordanian border.

It is from there that the water will be conveyed to the Hashemite kingdom.

Even before signing their peace treaty in 1994, the two neighbors were already cooperating on water resources.

Each year, 55 million m3 are sent to Jordan.

And with this new agreement, an additional 50 million m3 will be exported.

Water, at the service of diplomacy.

The new Israeli government thus hopes to open a new page in its relations with Jordan.

Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had refused Jordanian demands to increase the water supply.

► To reread: Appeasement in relations between Israel and Jordan

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• Israel

• Jordan

• Water