Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Saleh Kharabsheh, on Wednesday called on the German side to take the initiative and cooperate with Jordan to implement an electrical interconnection project between Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries to achieve integration and access to the security of energy supply.
During his meeting, along Environment Minister Muawiya Radaydah with German Vice-Chancellor and Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection, Robert Habeck, Kharabsheh stressed the need to work jointly to take the initiative to start implementing this interconnection project.
Kharabsheh also pointed to efforts to make Jordan a regional center for green energy exports, which would contribute “significantly” in the future to implementation of future energy projects, including hydrogen.
Kharabsheh reviewed joint cooperation projects with Germany, including German Energy Academy (GEA) in Jordan, which mainly targets vocational training in the energy field to link the theoretical and practical sides according to market needs.
He also stressed the importance of the academy for Jordan to be a regional center for training in the field of energy to qualify competencies according to the needs of the labor market, including the German market.
Kharabsheh expressed his appreciation to the German side for its continuous support through Jordanian-German partnership in the energy field, which helped carry out a number of initiatives, most notably holding Middle East and North Africa-Europe Future Energy Dialogue (MEFED) during last June at the Dead Sea.
During the visit, the minister said he would follow up on outcomes of the meeting, which took place with the aim of setting clear and specific steps for cooperation in the future of energy between the two countries.
For his part, the German minister stressed Jordan’s clear role in international relations, stressing the need to strengthen joint action, especially with regard to electrical interconnection.
“Work is currently underway with European countries on this issue, and Germany will work jointly to promote this initiative to achieve energy security,” he said.
Affirming his country’s continuous assiastance for joint projects, he expressed “all support will be provided to German Energy Academy, aimed to sustaining its work during the coming period.”
The two sides affirmed their continued keenness to strengthen bilateral cooperation relations and build on them in the future by involving the private sector from both sides to take advantage of investment opportunities in this sector, according to an Energy Ministry statement.
Source: Jordan News Agency