Jordan and Egypt agreed on Monday to work towards establishing a maritime tourist route between the two countries and decided to slash transit fees and customs guarantees to minimum levels, an official source said.
The agreement was reached at the end of a two-day meeting for a joint transport committee chaired by Transport Ministry Under- secretary Alaa Bataineh and adviser to the Egyptian Minister of Transport Mohammed Qussi, reported the Jordan Times newspaper.
Both countries, the source added, agreed to form a technical committee in order to “probe administrative, logistic and technical requirements to launch a tourist line” between Aqaba and Egyptian Red Sea resorts.
They also reinstated, as of July 1, the use of Triptych, a regional land transport document that facilitates cross-border travel among Arab states, said the paper.
The committee slashed residence and transit fees for Jordanian and Egyptian truckers.
Transit fees and passenger tickets had been much higher in Egypt than in Jordan.
On another front, the two sides lowered passage tariffs via Suez Canal for Aqaba-bound ships, the official said.
According to shipping officials, higher passage tariffs through Suez are affecting the performance of Aqaba Port, now running at 25 percent of its annual capacity — estimated at 20 million tons – Albawaba.com
