Egypt, Jordan to set up customs- clearance zone in Nuweiba

Egypt and Jordan discussed Friday a proposal to set up a customs-clearance zone at Nuweiba to help accelerate processing of relief aid to Iraq via Jordan's Aqaba port. The proposal was discussed during a meeting on Friday between Minister of Transport Hamdi El Shayeb and his Jordanian counterpart Raid Abul Saud.

Emerging from the meeting, Shayeb said the Egyptian proposal serves both countries and the region as a whole in implementing a vision shared by president Hosni Mubarak and King Abdullah II of Jordan to set up Arab free zones to serve the interests of the whole region.

The new free zone will promote trade exchange between Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Syria and the Gulf countries, Shayeb added.