Press Release
Ministry of Foreign Affairs

13. February 1996

First regional water declaration of principles for the Middle East has been initialled in Oslo.

Jordan, the PLO for the benefit of the Palestinian Authority, and Israel - have initialled a declaration dealing with the serious and chronic water problems in the region.

After two years of intense negotiations, the three parties yesterday in Oslo succeded in finalizing a declaration on principles for cooperation on water-related matters and new and additional water resources in the Middle East region, and on the establishment of regional co-operative mechanisms.

The process has taken place within the framework of the "Multilateral Peace Process in the Middle East", as part of the work of the Multilateral Working Group on Water Resources.

The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has sponsored this negotiation process which has been facilitated by Professor J. Martin Trolldalen of CESAR, Centre for Environmental Studies and Resource Management, an independent foundation based at the University of Oslo.

The agreement was initialled by Mr Koussai Quteishat on behalf of the Jordanian delegation, Dr Riyad El-Khoudary on behalf of the delegation from the Palestinian Authority and Mr Avraham Katz-Oz on behalf of the Israeli delegation. The agreement will now be referred back to their respective authorities for approval, with a view to holding a signing ceremony in Oslo in the very near future.