Ensour meets with Iraq transport minister over pipeline, railway projects

AMMAN — Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour on Thursday stressed the need to move ahead with the joint economic projects Jordan and Iraq have agreed on, primarily including the railway project linking the two countries and the oil pipeline.

Ensour's remarks came during a meeting with Iraqi Minister of Transport Baqir Jabr Al Zubeidi, which was attended by Transport Minister Lina Shbeeb and Baghdad's Ambassador in Amman Jawad Abbas, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

During the meeting, Ensour voiced the Kingdom's keenness on enhancing its relations with Iraq at all levels, stressing Amman's no-interference policy towards Baghdad. "Jordan's relation with Iraq has long been distinguished as being with the Iraqi state and not with a certain regime," the premier said.

Stressing the need to carry out the joint economic ventures the two countries have agreed on, Ensour said: "We are impatiently looking forward to seeing the pipeline and railway network projects between Jordan and Iraq implemented as part of a wider Arab project linking the two countries with Egypt and the Gulf states."

In April 2013, Jordan and Iraq signed an agreement to build a 1,680km Basra-Aqaba double pipeline to pump one million barrels of oil a day from Basra on the Arabian Gulf to Aqaba Port, and around 258 million cubic feet of gas. In the process, Jordan will have a share of both products to meet its growing consumption. 

In 2003, Jordan was among 13 Arab countries that agreed on a railway linkage system during meetings of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, which expects these countries to implement internal railway networks within 10-15 years.

According to the 2003 agreement, the trains will run on diesel at a speed of 120 kilometres per hour (kph) for cargo trains and 160kph for passenger trains.

Member countries of the regional project include the six Gulf states — Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and the UAE — along with Jordan, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen and Egypt. 

Ensour also discussed with the Iraqi minister the obstacles facing Jordanian trucks carrying agricultural produce to Iraq, calling on Iraqi authorities to facilitate their business inside Iraqi territory.  

Shbeeb and Zubeidi also held a separate meeting during which they discussed the railway connectivity projects and other issues concerning the transportation between the two countries, Petra said.