Summary of a meeting between Foreign Minister Peres and Crown Prince Hassan of Jordan

The issue of transport and tourism was high on the Israel-Jordan agenda. For that purpose, a high level meeting was held between Israelis and Jordanians dealing with land and air transport and the construction of a joint Aqaba-Eilat airport. Certain agreements dealing with Tel-Aviv Amman flights were reached as well as the inauguration of bus service, between the two cities. Text:

Yesterday, 28.8.95, a meeting was held in Jordan between FM Shimon Peres and Transportation Minister Yisrael Kessar and Jordanian Crown Prince Hassan and Transportation Minister Kaour. Other participants in the meeting included Jordanian Foreign Minister Kabariti, Ambassadors Shamir and Muasher, Aviation Authority head Menachem Sharon and Jordanian Oversight Committee Head Hani Al-Mulhi. The meeting focused on the transportation agreement between Israel and Jordan, particularly on the subject of the Eilat-Aqaba airport, which will be the central project to be presented by the Amman Committees and will be called the Arava airport. The project had faced difficulties and differences of opinion and in the meeting a breakthrough road was achieved. Peres' proposal to set up one terminal on the border, of which half would be Jordanian and half Israeli, was accepted. The Crown Prince's proposals regarding the working framework and the discussion about air traffic control were also accepted. Air traffic control will be Jordanian, with Israeli cooperation; operation of the airport will be given to an international company; and profits will be divided between the two sides in accordance with the negotiations that will be held on the issue. Each side will be responsible for security in its own area. Agreement was also reached on various issues in the sphere of transportation, something which had been delayed due to problems in dispute:

1. It was decided to increase the number of flights between Amman and Israel from three to five a week.

2. At first, the Amman-Tel Aviv route will be the only one. Six months after the signing, the possibility of operating additional routes will be examined.

3. A solution was found for the passage of buses between the Palestinian Authority and Jordan over the Allenby Bridge.

Crown Prince Hassan also raised the proposal to broaden the discussion from the joint airport project to comprehensive cooperation in the Gulf of Eilat and the southern Arava, which would also include railroad tracks, buses and more. The meeting lasted about three hours and was conducted in a cordial and warm atmosphere.