Jordan and Egypt agreed on Sunday to strengthen the electrical interconnection between the two countries and raise the mutual energy between them from 550 megawatts to 1,000 megawatts, or 2,000 megawatts in the future.

This came in press statements by the Jordanian Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Saleh Al-Kharabsheh, and the Egyptian Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, Muhammad Shaker, during a press conference following bilateral meetings held in Amman today.

Kharabsheh said that the agreement to increase power to one thousand megawatts, or even two thousand, will help expand the electrical systems in the two countries to reach new markets, in a way that reduces costs on their electrical systems.

He explained that within two months, tenders for the implementation of the Jordanian electrical connection with Iraq will be referred, stressing at the same time the readiness of the Jordanian electrical network to supply Lebanon with electricity by about 150 megawatts through Syria from midnight until 6 am, and 250 megawatts during the rest of the times.

The Egyptian minister said that his country has been able to raise its electrical capacities since 2014, when these capacities have become exportable, and has an ambitious plan to raise the percentage of renewable energy from its electrical capacities to 35% by 2035.

He added, "We currently have very good reserve capacities of electrical energy, and we are proceeding with electrical interconnection projects with neighboring countries," noting that the electrical linkage with Jordan enhances the electrical energy exchange system in the region.

Jordan and Egypt have exchanged electrical energy since 1999, and the Jordanian electrical network is connected to the Egyptian electrical network with a 400 kilovolt submarine cable that extends across the Gulf of Aqaba with a length of 13 kilometers and a capacity of 550 megawatts.