Iraq reopens Syria crossing for trade and passenger traffic
FILE PHOTO: Iraqi army commanders visit by helicopter a military base near a border crossing with Syria at Al-Qaim, Iraq January 18, 2021. Picture taken January 18, 2021. REUTERS/John Davison/File Photo
ANBAR (Reuters) -Iraq has officially reopened the Qaim border crossing with Syria for trade and passenger traffic, a spokesman for the Iraqi border authority said on Saturday, marking a key step in efforts to normalise relations and revive economic ties between the two countries.
'The Qaim crossing is now fully operational for both cargo trucks and civilian movement,' the spokesman told Reuters, adding that the reopening followed joint security assessments by Iraqi and Syrian officials.
The move comes three months after Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani visited Baghdad and urged Iraq to resume cross-border trade. The crossing had been shut in the wake of the revolt that toppled President Bashar al-Assad and the ensuing years of conflict that destabilised the region.
The reopening is also seen as a sign of warming ties between Baghdad and Syria's new leadership under President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who has sought to re-establish diplomatic and economic relations with regional neighbours. Iraqi officials say the two governments have intensified coordination on border security and trade facilitation since al-Sharaa took office last year.
'This crossing will serve as a strategic corridor for commodity trade between Iraq and Syria,' said Turki al-Mahallawi, mayor of the town of al-Qaim, where the border post is located.
(Reporting by Kamal Mohammed in Anbar; Writing by Ahmed Rasheed; Editing by Toby Chopra)
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