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Jordan Rift Valley Development Symposium
Political and Economic Context
In October 1994, the Governments of Israel and Jordan signed a comprehensive Peace Agreement. The key provisions of the Agreement included a wide variety of bilateral agreements on scientific and cultural exchange, refugee issues, and trade and infrastructure development, including the development of the Jordan Rift Valley as one of the highest priorities. The development of the Jordan Rift Valley was one of the immediate priorities of the two nations because each saw a significant level of economic advantages in implementing projects in the valley which is rich in minerals and resources. Specifically, the integrated development of the Valley, as stipulated in the Agreement, involved joint energy and infrastructure projects aimed at economic and social development of the region.
A joint Trilateral Jordan-Israel-US Economic Committee developed a blue print for a Jordan Rift Valley Development Master Plan, which included specific activities and schedules for a variety of development projects. In order to further develop these projects, the Jordanian, Israeli, and U.S. officials held preliminary discussions regarding sponsoring the Jordan Rift Valley Development Symposium during the Casablanca Economic Meeting in Morocco .
CORE International, Inc. (CORE) was selected by the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) to organize and conduct this Symposium. CORE understood that the U.S. State Department and the USTDA management placed a very high importance on the role that U.S. could play in assisting the parties in the development of the Jordan Rift Valley because it was directly linked to many infrastructure projects which need to be developed in the coming years. The U.S. 's motivation to play an active role in this process came from both political considerations to advance the peace process and the commercial interest of the U.S. industry in capturing some of the market generated by the development of the Valley.
Prior to the October 1994 signing of the Peace Agreement between Jordan and Israel , a number of activities were carried out by officials of the U.S. , Israeli, and Jordanian governments. In late August 1994, in a Trilateral Meeting in Jordan , a specific panel focused on the cooperation for the development of the Jordan Rift Valley which lies between the Red Sea and the Dead Sea and covers an area shared by Israel and Jordan. Both parties believed that the development of this area was essential in order to:
- Prevent further decline in water level of the Dead Sea, through the construction of a canal that would transport water from the Red Sea
- Use the natural elevation drop to the Dead Sea for hydropower and desalination projects
- Provide a major new source of fresh water for the region
- Provide electricity from renewable resources
- Develop domestic resources (Oil Shale Deposits) for power generation
- Develop Aquaculture, chemical and other potential industries in the Rift Valley region
- Expand facilities and services for the Dead Sea tourism industry
- Expand transportation capabilities in the Valley
Although the trilateral meeting spent a considerable effort on the principles behind these objectives, there was a great need for the development of these ideas further and the preparation of the highest priority projects attractive to private sector financing and investments in the near term. Accordingly, the Jordanian Government approached the U.S. Government to cosponsor an international technical symposium in Amman to focus on the issues surrounding the further development of specific financable projects in the above sub-sectors.
CORE's Project Activities
In November 1994, CORE along with assistance from the Embassies of Jordan and Israel in Washington, D.C., the Ministry of Planning in Jordan, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Israel, planned the Symposium. The Symposium was opened by His Royal Highness Crown Prince Hassan, Jordan , and Honorable Shimon Peres, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Israel . A total of 265 public and private sector officials from the U.S. , Jordan, and Israel participated in this historic symposium.
The planning for the Symposium concentrated on presenting the concept of the Red Sea-Dead Sea Integrated Regional Development Project to representatives of all parties in the region and solicit agreement from interested parties for the project. The Symposium included working sessions by specialists dealing with individual aspects of canal pipeline, hydropower development, desalination, telecommunications, water, oil shale mining, and environmental sector projects. In addition, a special session was devoted to financing of attractive public and private sector projects.The Symposium was open to the entire U.S. industry and the industries in Jordan and Israel . Industry experts in each of the conference areas were invited to make technical presentations at the Symposium on specific technologies and project financing approaches including extensive discussions of successful case studies of major development projects elsewhere in the world. The key objective of the Symposium was to expose Jordanians, Israelis, and others to a wide variety of technologies, share U.S. experience with the participants, and discuss methods of project financing which may be applicable for Jordan and Israel . Also, the Symposium attempted to gain widespread understanding of the need for specific projects in the above sectors in the region.
The technical areas covered during the Symposium included integrated development, canal/pipeline hydropower development, desalination, water reclamation and supply, oil shale combustion, telecommunications, transportation, environment, and financing. A total of 15 technical papers were presented during the two and a half day Symposium. The Symposium included specific panels and comments from 18 different panel members from the three countries. A special session was devoted to public sector and private sector financing of infrastructure projects. This session discussed various approaches to financing projects and pointed out specific issues that needed to be considered for considering financing of any projects in the Rift Valley.
The Symposium was attended by 265 public and private sector officials from the U.S. , Jordan , and Israel . The private sector participation included chief executives and senior executives from over 75 major corporations from the three countries, including over 25 fortune 500 corporations from the U.S. -- AT&T, MCI, GTE, Brown & Root, Bechtel, Fluor Corporation, Salomon Brothers, Parsons, Raytheon, SAIC, Stone & Webster, De Leuw Cather, Morrison Knudsen, etc.
In addition, representatives from the U.S. Department of Commerce, Federal Aviation Administration, Overseas Private Investment Corporation, and the U.S. Agency for International Development participated in the Symposium.
Key Accomplishments
Immediately following the Symposium a number of project agreements were signed between the U.S. , Jordanian, and Israeli firms. Also, the U.S. Government announced a grant jointly for the Jordanian and Israeli governments to assess the technical and financial feasibility for the Eilat-Aqaba International Peace Airport and Lockheed-Martin was selected by the two governments to carry out the feasibility study and develop this historic project. The Symposium was widely covered in some 30 news papers and on radio and television.
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