His Majesty King Abdullah said the Arab
Gas Pipeline project between Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon is an
important step for supporting and enhancing the joint Arab action.


Speaking during a meeting on Sunday with Prime Ministers
of Egypt Atef Obeid, Syria Mohammad Atri, and Lebanon Rafiq Al Hariri
and in presence of Prime Minister Faisal Al Fayez, King Abdullah hoped
the project would contribute to overall development and achieve economic
integration amongst Arab countries The four prime ministers
on Sunday attended the signing ceremony of the agreement on the second
phase of the $1.2 billion project, which aims to provide Jordan, Syria
and Lebanon with natural gas from Egypt and at a later stage includes
Turkey and Cyprus to be linked with the European Gas Pipeline Network.



The second phase of the project extends from Aqaba to AN Pm
The first phase of the project which extends from Al Areesh in Egypt
to Aqaba in Jordan was completed last year and inaugurated by His
Majesty King Abdullah and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak last June.



During the meeting which was attended by Royal Court Minister
Samir Rifai, King Abdullah called for establishing similar projects,
which may help in facing economic challenges in the Arab World.
The second phase of the project extends from Aqaba to the
Jordanian town of Rehab near the Jordanian Syrian borders with a total
cost reaching $350 million.



The Prime Ministries lauded the efforts exerted by His Majesty
to promote inter-Arab relations in various fields.