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.