Jordan, Israel and the UAE were due to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Monday, at the 2022 UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) at Sharm El Sheikh, to accelerate the implementation of a project agreed upon a year ago, entailing water in exchange for electricity, according to the Israeli business website Globes.

The MoU will be signed by Minister of Water and Irrigation Mohammad Al Najjar, who signed the agreement a year ago, UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment Mariam Almheiri, and Israel’s Minister of Regional Cooperation Issawi Frej, according to Globes.According to the Israeli website, under the MoU, the parties will commit to expediting the various stages of the project, which involves the construction of a huge solar energy farm in the Jordanian desert and of a desalination plant on the coast of northern Israel. The parties undertake to report on progress at a conference in the UAE within one year.The MoU will serve as a declaration of intent by the UAE and Jordan, confirming to the new government in Israel the continuation of the trilateral project, according to Globes. The MoU is not binding on the incoming prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his government, but Netanyahu is expected to go along with it, Globes said.Egypt, where the signing is due to take place, is also involved, and sees this agreement as opening up the possibility of a similar agreement, according to Globes.Jordan News contacted the Ministry of Water spokesperson Omar Salameh who would neither confirm nor deny the Israeli report. He however said that Najjar was in Sharm El-Sheikh.Minister of Government Communications Faisal Shboul did not return Jordan News calls.