Jordan and Canada signed a cooperation agreement on 17 February covering the peaceful use of nuclear energy, the Jordan's Petra news agency reported. The agreement was signed in Amman by Khalid Touqan, president of the Jordan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC) and Canada's ambassador to Jordan Margaret Huber. Under the agreement, Canada will help Jordan construct a nuclear power plant to generate electricity and desalinate seawater. Touqan commented, "The Jordanian nuclear program is progressing steadily in steps." The signing of the cooperation agreement follows the signing in July 2008 of a memorandum of understanding between the JAEC and SNC-Lavalin and Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd (AECL). Jordan has already signed similar cooperation agreements with France, China and South Korea.