Jordan and Iraq are set to reopen their main border crossing after Iraqi forces recaptured a key highway connecting the two neighbors from ISIL Takfiri terrorists.
On Tuesday, Reuters cited Jordanian officials as saying that the Tureibil post, also known as Karameh, will be reopened, as customs and border arrangements have been finalized.
Several trade and business officials said they have been invited to the reopening ceremony on Wednesday.
Last week, Jordanian Interior Minister Ghaleb al Zubi pointed to the two countries’ efforts to reopen the crossing, without providing exact details.
Security measures are in place to ensure the safety of the 550-kilometer highway from the border to Baghdad.
Iraqi troops pulled out of the Tureibil post in the summer of 2014 after ISIL terrorists captured Iraq’s Anbar Province. Commercial traffic continued for a year, during which ISIL terrorists forced truck drivers to pay tax on their cargoes coming from Jordan.
The route was completely closed in 2015 after Iraqi forces launched an offensive to purge Anbar Province of the Takfiri militants.
Over the past two years, Jordanian exporters had to turn to more expensive sea routes to Iraq’s Um Qasr port or another land route across Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
Meanwhile, Iraq has also sought to restore security to a highway that connects Iraq’s Basra port in the south to Jordan.
According to a senior Western diplomat, the Iraqi authorities have awarded a contract to a US security company to provide security for the highway.
Iraq is Jordan’s main export market which receives almost a fifth of the country’s exports. The amount of exports, valued $1.2 billion annually before the crisis, has currently fallen by over 50 percent.
The restoration of trade links will also lay the groundwork for reviving a frozen oil pipeline project running from Basra to Aqaba.
Source: Press TV
