His Majesty King Abdullah II laid the foundation stone for the establishment of the International Center for "Synchrotron-light for Experimental Science and Applications for the Middle East". Work to build facilities of the laboratory which will be located at Al Balqa Applied University in Allan Near Salt city, will begin later this months.

The ceremony was attended by Director General of the UNESCO Koichiro Matsuura and Deputy Director General, of the Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Professor Werner Burkart.

Seven countries namely Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Israel, Jordan the Palestinian national Authority and Turkey have officially joined SESAME. The total cost of the laboratory will reach JD4 million.

Minister of Education Dr. Khaled Toukan noted efforts that are being exerted to support the project by additional $10 million. In remarks he made during the opening ceremony, he said that the establishment of this project is in line with the national efforts led by His Majesty king Abdullah to transfer Jordan to the modern age and make it a center for information technology in the Middle East.