Israel to accelerate implementation of ‘Jordan Gateway’ Israeli-Jordanian Industrial Park
Israel’s government has approved the proposal of Prime Minister Yair Lapid and Regional Cooperation Minister Esawi Frej to accelerate the implementation of the “Jordan Gateway” project – a joint industrial zone between Israel and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
Yair Lapid and King Abdullah
The project was first proposed during talks on the 1994 peace agreement.
Staff work on preparing the decision and the operating model for the terminal was led by the Prime Minister’s Office and the Regional Cooperation Ministry, in conjunction with other ministries.
In recent years, the Regional Cooperation Ministry, in conjunction with the Emek Hamaayanot Regional Council in the Jordan Valley, has advanced the project and worked to remove impediments and update the relevant planning and legal issues, including the construction of a bridge between Israel and Jordan to serve as a crossing between the park on its Jordanian side and its Israeli side, the building of which was completed some time ago.
Lapid stated after the decision that “28 years since the peace agreement with Jordan, we are taking the good neighbourly relations between our two countries another step forward. This breakthrough will contribute greatly to developing and strengthening the region.”
The final details regarding this initiative were addressed last week during his visit with King Abdullah II in Amman.
“This initiative will increase employment in both countries, advance our economic and diplomatic relations, and enhance the peace and friendship between our two countries,” he noted.
The joint industrial zone on the border will “allow Israeli and Jordanian entrepreneurs and businesspeople to communicate directly. It will produce joint initiatives in trade, technology and local industry,” Lapid said.
Israel’s Airports Authority will build and operate the Jordan Gateway Park Terminal, including a facility for hosting businesspeople and guests arriving from the Jordanian side for business purposes.
The project will be advanced, developed and operated in coordination and conjunction with the Kingdom of Jordan and with mutual agreement on the goals of the project and aspects of its operation.
Israel’s diplomatic relations with Jordan have been tense for years, especially since the Hashemite Kingdom announced it would withdraw from part of the peace agreement with Israel. In the past year, the current government has attempted to turn the tide.
While Jordan officially remains committed to the peace agreement, relations are limited largely to behind-the-scenes security ties and some environmental and economic cooperation.
The Jordanian people overwhelmingly reject the peace agreement and any form of normalisation with Israel.
TPS
