The two countries signed a long-awaited agreement early in April on the construction of the al-Wehda dam at a cost of 90 million dollars.

Aswad, on an official visit to Jordan, and Ragheb discussed "the means to implement a project which will be beneficial to both countries", Petra said.

"The dam will allow Jordan to receive 80 million cubic metresmillion cubic feet) of water for drinking and irrigation," Jordan's Water Minister Hazem Nasser said in April, while Syria would benefit from hydro-electric power.

Jordan, 92 percent of whose land mass is desert, is considered one of the 10 worst off countries in the world in terms of water resources.

TERRA.WIRE