(Communicated by the Deputy Regional Cooperation Minister's Media Adviser)
The Regional Cooperation Ministry, led by Deputy Minister Ayoob Kara, headed the Israeli delegation to a conference on water security and lasting development that was held yesterday and today (Tuesday-Wednesday, 22-23 November 2016), on the Jordanian side of the Dead Sea and which dealt with the challenges common to all states in the region vis-à-vis the environment and water security. In addition to Deputy Minister Kara, MK Nava Boker, mayors and regional council chairpersons, Water Authority representatives and other officials also participated in the Israeli delegation.
In his remarks to the opening of the conference, Deputy Minister Kara noted that Israel and the Palestinian Authority – with Jordanian assistance – had recently succeeded in formulating a water sharing agreement, but added that the Palestinians were delaying the signing and thus hurting their own people. He also pointed out that Israel and Jordan were partners in many fields and said that joint work would assist the residents of both countries. He noted that Israel and Jordan had common interests and common challenges, as well as common enemies, and declared that the only way to deal with them was to have a common stand. He said that Israel had taken the initiative and was advancing the opening of an additional crossing between the two countries south of the Dead Sea.
Deputy Minister Kara and the Swedish representative also discussed the holding of a global water conference in Stockholm in which Arab country representatives will also participate.
Regional Cooperation Ministry: Israeli, Jordanians and Palestinians to work together to save the Dead Sea
(Communicated by the Deputy Regional Cooperation Minister's Media Adviser)
A dedication ceremony was held (Tuesday, 22 November 2016) at the Masada National Park Visitor's Center, for Dead Sea Research Institute, in which Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian Authority scientists will work together to study the Dead Sea in order to find ways to rehabilitate it and the region around it (on both shores). The institute was established under the aegis of the International Cooperation Ministry, which invested NIS 4 million in it. Additional partners in the establishment of the institute are the Tamar Regional Council, Tel Aviv University, the JNF and the Israel Nature and Parks Authority.
Deputy Regional Cooperation Minister Ayoob Kara said that the institute would coordinate the work of four separate research institutes in Israel and Jordan that are working on the area from the Arava to the Jordan Valley and are carrying out advanced studies for the benefit of the local population and neighboring peoples. He added, "This place serves as a symbol of the deep desire of the Israeli people for cooperation with our neighbors in joint research, progress and development in order to improve life in general and our common life in particular. The Dead Sea, the preservation of which we are currently fighting for, is an historic source for heritage, tourism and raw materials used by the entire world in technological, agricultural and medical developments. Under my leadership, the Regional Cooperation Ministry is advancing many projects to raise awareness of the Dead Sea with our neighbors, especially the canal between the seas [from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea] which, in a few years, will raise the level of the Dead Sea by millions of cubic meters (hundreds of millions of gallons) of water and supply freshwater to the peoples of the region. Taking a historical and cultural view, I will work together with the various regional councils to rename the section of Highway #90 between Jericho and Eilat, which was known in ancient times as a conduit for the spice trade, after the Queen of Sheba, as a sign of cooperation between us and our neighbors."
The institute will coordinate the research that is currently being done on the Dead Sea, boost interest and define a list of priorities. It will also serve to increase the study and teaching of various disciplines associated with the Dead Sea, assist in carrying out studies in the area and be a regional center for researchers and students.
Studies carried out by the institute will concentrate on issues such as: Climate and environmental medicine and health; Dead Sea studies (flora and fauna, environment, geology, archaeology and heritage); natural resources, environmental and community management and regional-international cooperation, as well as bio- and nano-technology.