Saudi Arabia, Israel to Design Mideast Mega-Project

Another surprising news has emerged with talks between Israel and Saudi Arabia regarding a Middle Eastern economic mega-project.

AFP PHOTO/PUNIT PARANJPE

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

CAIRO, KOMPAS – Another surprising news has emerged from the Arabian Gulf at the start of 2018, with talks between Israel and Saudi Arabia regarding a Middle Eastern economic mega-project for the next 5-15 years.

Two prominent media in the Middle East, Arabic language newspaper Al Quds al Arabi and Israel online news portal Yedioth Ahronoth, revealed in their Wednesday (17/1) edition a surprisingly intensive study in Tel Aviv and Riyadh in connection a Saudi Arabia-Israel cooperation in an economic mega-project that will change the face of the Middle East.

Kompas reporter Musthafa Abd Rahman reported from Cairo, Egypt, that the mega-project includes the construction of a freight railway network that will connect Israel and Saudi Arabia through Jordan and extend to Iraq. The Israel Knesset (parliament) agreed in a meeting on Sunday the disbursement US$4.5 million for the services of an architect for the railway network.

The first stage of the railway network project will begin with the construction of train stations in Beit She’an, northern Israel, and then a railway in the Sheikh Hussein gate area in northern Jordan through to Saudi Arabia. The railway from Beit She’an to the Israeli-Jordanian border will be only 15 kilometers long, with a development fund of around $600 million.

Another planned project is the construction of a cargo terminal in the Galilee area in northern Israel, which will be used for export commodities from Saudi Arabia and other Arabian Gulf countries bound for Europe and the United States.

The Israeli Transportation Ministry has formed a technical team and gathered consultants to design the international-scale logistics center in Galilee. Israel claims that it has been helping to transfer commodities needed by Saudi Arabia and other Arabian Gulf countries that arrive from Europe and the US at Haifa Port, northern Israel, for shipping to Jordan’s Aqaba Port before transporting by land to Saudi Arabia.

As an early step towards the mega-project, Israel is currently lobbying Saudi Arabia for permission to use the country’s air space for flights to India.

AFP PHOTO/Gujarat Information Bureau

This handout photo from the Gujarat Information Bureau released on January 17, 2018 shows Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (second left), his wife Sara Netanyahu (second right) and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (left) interacting during a visit to the Centre of Excellence for Vegetables at Vadrad village, some 70 kms from Ahmedabad.

Israeli Prime Minister Banjamin Netanyahu is currently on a visit to India. The meeting between Netanyahu and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has produced a number of agreements, including a change in the Israel-India flight path from the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean to Saudi Arabian air space.

The current Israel-India route, which passes the Red Sea and Indian Ocean and takes up to eight hours, is not competitive because of the high price of tickets. By going through Saudi Arabia, the flight would only take around 5-6 hours.

Secret negotiations

The Al Quds al Arabi and Yedioth Ahronoth newspapers revealed that the initiative for the Middle East mega-project had come from Israel as part of its efforts to participate in the 2030 Saudi Arabia Vision.

AP/Presidency Press Service

Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman

Israel also claims to have held secret negotiations with Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to promote the mega-project, with President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and political advisor Jared Kushner acting as an intermediary.

Israel has also claimed that Crown Prince Mohammed has on principle supported the proposed mega-project, but has asked that a political agreement between Israel and Palestine be reached first before commencing with the mega-project.

Saudi Arabia Islamic Affairs Minister Saleh bin Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh, on the sidelines of an international press conference on Jerusalem in Cairo, Egypt, declined to comment when Kompas asked about the planned Saudi Arabia-Israel mega-project. He said that he only had the authority to comment on religious affairs, not politics.