A $2.5 billion rail link
President Sheikh Mohamed and King Abdullah of Jordan discussed the $2.5 billion Aqaba-Al-Shidiya-Maan Railway Project in a phone call, reviewing their relationship and ways to deepen economic and developmental cooperation. State news agency Wam reported the call on Tuesday.
The Jordanian-Emirati Railway Company is developing the cross-border railway. The two leaders described the initiative as reflecting “a shared vision for a sustainable and extended development partnership.” They said the project would strengthen economic connectivity between the UAE and Jordan, support their mutual interests and deliver broader prosperity for their people.
Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Council, and King Abdullah attended the project’s ground-breaking ceremony on Monday in the Jordanian port city of Aqaba. The source called the railway a cornerstone of the countries’ long-term development agenda.
Regional consultation and stability
The leaders also exchanged views on regional matters, with developments across the Middle East prominent in their talks. They stressed continued fraternal consultation and coordination on significant regional issues, reaffirming their determination to support efforts to consolidate security, stability and peace across the Middle East. They said those efforts served the interests of all people in the region.
The account of the call didn't detail specific regional threats, military arrangements or security measures linked to the railway. Instead, it focused on economic cooperation, the project’s development aims and the leaders’ stated support for regional security, stability and peace.
A wider transport network
The report places the railway project alongside several other UAE rail initiatives. The Etihad Rail network is a 1,200-kilometre flagship railway spanning all seven emirates, serving heavy freight and passenger services.
The UAE is also co-developing Hafeet Rail, also called Oman-UAE Rail, which will link Abu Dhabi to Sohar Port. The report identifies the UAE as a key signatory in the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, a multinational transport framework designed to connect India to Europe through a combined ship-to-rail transit network.
That corridor crosses the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel. The article presents the Aqaba-Al-Shidiya-Maan project as part of UAE-Jordan development cooperation, while setting it alongside these other transport initiatives. It provides no cost, construction schedule or completion date beyond the project’s $2.5 billion value and the report that its ground-breaking ceremony took place on Monday.
The leaders’ call combined discussion of the railway with consultation on regional affairs. Their stated focus was deepening cooperation and supporting security, stability and peace across the Middle East. It's a stated focus, not a timetable.