New push to expand Iraq-Syria border transport

Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraq and Syria are working to ease truck traffic and restore passenger services at the Al-Waleed-Tanf border crossing, as Baghdad seeks to expand trade with its western neighbor after the crossing reopened following more than 11 years of closure.

Iraq's Border Ports Authority chief Omar Adnan Al-Waeli met on Sunday with Qutaiba Badawi, head of Syria's General Authority for Border Crossings and Customs, during a visit to the Al-Waleed crossing in Al-Anbar province.

During the tour, Al-Waeli inspected the crossing's facilities, yards and infrastructure and reviewed truck traffic. He also assessed what was needed to improve services and expand the crossing's capacity.

The two sides discussed plans to resume passenger traffic after the necessary halls and roads are completed in the coming days. They further reviewed arrangements for petroleum product exports and measures to facilitate trucks carrying commercial and transit cargo.

Syrian authorities, meanwhile, stressed the importance of continued coordination to increase cross-border traffic and trade and strengthen economic ties between the two countries.

The visit came as Iraqi authorities sought to address delays affecting tanker drivers at the border. Imad Al-Rishawi, mayor of Rutba district in Al-Anbar province, indicated that Al-Waeli's visit followed a directive from Al-Anbar Governor Omar Mishaan Al-Dabbous to assess the situation of drivers who had been stranded on the Iraqi-Syrian border for three days.

Trade between Iraq and Syria has also begun to pick up as border crossings resume activity, while energy and transit routes provide additional channels for commercial traffic between the two countries.

Earlier today, Mohammad Imad Mawlawi, an executive board member of the Damascus Countryside Chamber of Commerce, told Shafaq News that road transport was essential to expanding trade opportunities between Syria and Iraq, calling for the sector to be maintained and developed in line with the capabilities available to both countries.

Stretching for about 600 kilometers, the Syria-Iraq border includes three main official land crossings: Al-Yarubiyah-Rabia, linking Al-Hasakah with Nineveh province; Al-Bukamal-Al-Qaim, connecting Deir ez-Zor with Al-Anbar; and Al-Tanf-Al-Waleed near the Syria-Iraq-Jordan tri-border area. The Semalka-Faysh Khabur crossing over the Tigris River also links northeastern Syria with the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

Read more: Syria-Iraq trade recovers as energy transit expands