Tajik President Emomali Rahmon has proposed to organize the supply of fresh water from Tajikistan to Jordan.
Tajik leader remarked this on December 10 during a meeting with members of the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) Council.
Tajik national television channels broadcast Tajik president’s statement at a meeting with members of the GAM Council.
Speaking at the meeting, Tajik leader, in particular, noted that Tajikistan is one of the main sources of water resources in Central Asia and some 60 percent of water resources in the region originate from glaciers in Tajikistan.
“Hundreds of thousands of kilometers of gas and oil pipelines have been built in the world. So why not to build a pipeline to supply fresh water from Tajikistan to Jordan,” Rahmon noted.
Meanwhile, The Arab Weekly reported in March this year that available resources provide 800 million-900 million cubic meters (mcm) of water annually, which meets the needs of 3 million of Jordan’s population of 7.8 million.
The desert kingdom reportedly has one of the lowest levels of water availability in the world and hosts the second largest number of Syrian refugees per person, following Lebanon. That places tremendous stress on its limited water resources.
“The water situation in Jordan is facing continuous challenges due to the unexpected population increase in the past few years, as the kingdom is hosting more than 1.4 million Syrian refugees, leading to more than a 22% increase in water demand,” Omar Salameh, communications director at the Ministry of Water and Irrigation was quoted as saying by The Arab Weekly on March 19, 2017.
“Shortage in clean water has reached more than 30% and the individual share dropped to around 70-80 liters daily,” he said.
The ministry said that water per person in Jordan is 88% less than the international water poverty line of 1,000 cubic meters annually.
In 2015, national water demand in Jordan stood at 1.205 billion cubic meters (bcm) but supply stood at 972mcm, a water deficit of 233mcm.
Experts say the kingdom can expect a 15-60% decrease in precipitation and a 1-4 degree Celsius increase in temperatures as a result of climate change, which could have damaging effects on ecosystems, river basins, watersheds and biodiversity.
In 2016, the government of Jordan announced a 10-year water strategy to bridge the growing gap between supply and demand.
Recall, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon’s visit to Jordan started on December 9. On the same day, Emomali Rahmon visited the Greater Amman Municipality headquarters, where Amman Mayor, Yousef Shawarbeh, handed him the Amman City Golden Key, in recognition of his visit and a reflection of the deep-rooted relationship between the two countries. He voiced pride in receiving the Amman City Golden Key, which reflects citizenship.
On December 10, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon held talks with Jordanian King Abdullah II. Following the expanded talks, President Emomali Rahmon and His Majesty King Abdullah II witnessed the signing of two cooperation agreements between the two countries on enhancing and protecting mutual investments as well as avoiding dual taxation as well as tax evasion. Besides, a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the higher education and scientific research was signed.
After his meeting with His Majesty King Abdullah II, President Rahmon held talks with Jordanian Prime Minister Hani al-Mulqi. Tajik president and Jordanian prime minister oversaw the signing of a number of bilateral agreements and memoranda of understanding in economic, agricultural, technical, cultural and scientific domains. An agreement was also signed to establish a join Tajik-Jordanian business council.
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