Statement on meeting of Multilateral Steering Committee on Water Pollution

A major area for Israel-Arab cooperation was environment. The Gulf of Aqaba was the point where four countries converged: Israel, Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Oil pollution was threatening sea life in the Gulf and it was deemed by Israel and Jordan that emergency action had to be taken. This was done through the Multilateral Steering Committee on Water Pollution which met in Eilat. Text of the Environment Ministry communique follows:

Israel is today, 14 March 1995, hosting the third meeting of the steering committee for the regional cooperation project for protecting the Gulf of Aqaba (Eilat) from oil pollution. The meeting is being held at the Reef Hotel in Eilat under the auspices of the Environment Ministry. The regional program for cooperation between the neighboring countries bordering the Gulf of Eilat began in the framework of the multilateral peace talks on the environment. Environment Ministry Director-General Dr. Yisrael Peleg, who heads Israel's delegation to the multilateral talks, said that this project is the "flagship" of the multilateral peace talks, by virtue of its being the first practical project for cooperation starting out in this framework. Peleg said that the project, which should be operational by the end of this year, is an important step in protecting the Gulf's ecological system.

The guiding principle behind the emergency actions and of the cooperation between the countries (at this stage without Saudi Arabia, but it should be assumed that Saudi Arabia will join at a later stage), is that each country will prepare itself to handle incidents of sea pollution of up to 200 tons of oil in the water. In the event of a large incident of pollution, where oil spreads beyond the borders of one country, the forces of all three countries will combine to handle the pollution together. The European Union will finance the costs of equipping Egypt, of coordinating the project itself and of the courses and training that will be needed to create cooperation. Japan will finance Jordan's equipment needs and Israel, which is the most advanced state in the region with regards to current readiness, will finance the procurement of its own equipment. In the framework of the meeting which is taking place in Eilat this Wednesday and Thursday, discussions will be held on the technical aspects of the types of equipment required, training personnel and various possibilities for dealing with oil spills in the Gulf as well as outlining the next stages for implementing joint emergency plans.

The Israeli delegation includes Environment Ministry Deputy Director-General Mickey Lipshitz and Alik Adler, head of the Environment Ministry's Division of Sea and Beaches. Heading the committee will be Christian Polkovsky, representative of the European delegation, which is coordinating and funding the project. Representatives of Japan and a consulting firm from Denmark, which is serving as the steering committee's secretariat and is providing technical advice for the project, are also participating.