Israel has signed an agreement in principle to import 50 million cubic meters of water annually from Turkey. The agreement stretches over a period of 20 years for a total of one billion cubic meters of water, Haaretz reported.
The water will be transferred to the Jewish state from an export facility on the Manbaget river in southern Turkey. According to the agreement signed by Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director Yoav Biran and his Turkish counterpart Or Laziel, the price of the water the method of transportation will be negotiated between by representatives from both countries.
The price of imported water from Turkey is estimated to reach $0.80 to one dollar per cubic meter, over the contract’s full term.
An agreement for the transaction was made between Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and former Turkish energy minister Zeki Cakan in 2002. Although the price of water desalination is lower than that of importing the natural resource from Turkey, Israel closed the deal with Ankara after it tied the negotiated water deal to a big arms purchase, providing for the sale of Israeli-made tanks and air force technology. — (menareport.com)
© 2004 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
