Jordan, Iraq reopen only border crossing

AMMAN: Jordan and Iraq on Wednesday reopened their only border crossing, saying security had been restored three years after the IS group seized control of frontier areas.

In a joint statement, the two countries’ governments said the crossing, called Turaibil in Iraq and Al Karameh in Jordan, was reopened after it was “secured... against attacks by criminal gangs”.

The border crossing is part of a crucial route linking the Iraqi and Jordanian capitals, and its reopening comes after Iraqi forces managed to retake most of the territory seized by IS in 2014.

The route passes through the vast desert province of Anbar, where IS maintains some of its last bastions, including the towns of Rawa, Aanah and Al Qaim, more than 200 kilometres north of the border post.

The reopening of the post is a sign of increasing stability in the area and the restoration of commercial traffic will be important for the economies of both countries.

Issa Murad, the chairman of the Amman chamber of commerce, said the closure of the crossing had led to more than $1 billion in export losses and forced the closure of many factories.

Adel al Massudi, head of international affairs at Iraq’s commerce ministry, said the reopening of the crossing would namely have a “positive effect on the prices of cars”.

Until 2014, Jordan was the gateway for car exports to Iraq.

Massudi said he expected Iraq to resume importing goods from Europe through Turaibil and use it to export products including oil. — AFP