CAIRO: Egypt denied Thursday news reports that it was in talks with Israel about possibly establishing a joint solar project in the Sinai Desert. Ministry of Energy spokesperson Aktham Aboul Ela refuted reports claiming that Egypt and Israel were planning to set up a joint project to generate and export energy, according to a statement on egynews.net. State-run news agency MENA quoted Aboul Ela as saying that these reports were completely untrue and that Egypt is keen on maintaining transparency regarding all of its joint projects with any country. Media outlets that distributed this news, he added, have lost the credibility to report on this kind of news in the future. Reuters earlier quoted Industry and Trade Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer as saying that the idea of a joint energy project to be built on Egyptian soil was raised during a recent visit to Egypt with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The minister, who was reportedly speaking at a renewable energy conference in the southern Israeli city of Eilat, added that the project would provide energy for both Israel and Egypt. "Egypt has the requisite space and Israel would contribute its technological know-how, he said. "In our discussions with President Mubarak, he expressed much interest in the idea and we will be working together with Egyptian government representatives to advance the idea, Reuters reported. Salah Azzam, director of the Bio-Fuels Division at the National Energy Research Center in Jordan, reportedly outlined his plans for the establishment of an Israeli-Jordanian bio-diesel plant by the end of 2010. The plant would be built along the border between Jordan and Israel and will be operated by representatives from both countries. "This project could serve as a great boost for establishing peace and security in the region and could promote peace efforts between Israel and its neighbors, Azzam was quoted as saying. -Daily News Egypt with additional reporting by Reuters
