Ammon News - Amman, (Petra) Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister, Awad Khleifat on Saturday met with Egyptian Ambassador Khalid Tharwat and discussed with him the Jordanian-Egyptian gas supply agreement and labor issues.

Khleifat said the non-compliance to the gas agreement incurred losses on Jordan of more than $4 billion in the last two years, sending the budget deficit to high records and creating economic distortions that affected various sectors.

The deputy premier stressed the need to abide by the deal and agreed-on gas supplies to Jordan, adding that the disruption in the supplies has severely affected Jordan's economy.

The ambassador said he will work hard with his government to supply Jordan with the agreed-on gas supplies despite the difficulties faced by his country in the energy issue.

The two sides also touched on the measures taken by the Jordanian government to correct the conditions of foreign workers in the Kingdom.

Khleifat said this issue includes all expatriate workers in Jordan and not only the Egyptian laborers, adding that there are 500,000 Egyptian workers in the Kingdom, only 176,000 of them have work permits.

The deputy premier said any foreign worker without a legal work permit will be deported for violating conditions of stay on Jordanian territory according to the agreement signed by the governments of Jordan and Egyptian.