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Thirty years after its closure, the Arar border crossing between Iraq and Saudi Arabia is working again, to herald a positive rapprochement between the two countries.
Saudi Arabia cut ties with the Saddam Hussein regime after the invasion of Kuwait in 1990 and resumed them later in 2017, nearly 15 years after Saddam’s fall.
Today, Riyadh is looking to make a strong return to the Iraqi market, which was flooded with Iranian and Turkish products, after it was an industrial and agricultural country.
Iraq shares borders with Syria and Jordan to the west, Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, and Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to the south.
This rapprochement came “after Iraq deviated from its policies during the era of former Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, and its affiliation became Iran, which has goals and ambitions in Arab countries, especially Iraq, Syria. and Lebanon, “according to Saudi security expert Ahmed al-Rukban on Al-Hurra’s website.
Last week, a high-ranking Saudi delegation visited Baghdad, where they met with Iraqi officials, and a similar Iraqi delegation visited Saudi Arabia.
Iraqi security expert Hussein Allawi said in his interview with Al-Hurra that relations between the two countries are undergoing effective development, and this is the result of meetings of the Iraqi-Saudi Strategic Council, which is a coordinating council intended to develop relationships and strengthen their institutional folds.
Allawi indicates that the two countries plan to open another crossing, which is the Jumaymah Al-Beri border crossing with Saudi Arabia, during the next period, “but a date has not yet been set.”
Investments
Allawi said: “These crossings will work on the development of trade relations, expanding the movement of investments between the two countries and developing the infrastructure of Saudi companies through investments in the sectors of health, agriculture, industry, petrochemicals and joint ventures. in oil, cement and electricity “.
Iraq’s industrial and agricultural sectors suffer a recession, amid a growing and living economic crisis.
Allawi adds that “Iraq decided to open the paths of competition for the diversification of goods entering Iraq in order to create new paths for industry, agriculture, energy and provide opportunities for young people.”
He believes that the Iraqi consumer will tend towards Saudi, Turkish and Jordanian products as they are of high quality, but on the other hand, low-income people may turn to low-quality Iranian products.
Iran’s threats
However, the crossing is not far from threats from Iran, especially since the strengthening of trade between Saudi Arabia and Iraq will affect Tehran, “which is affected by the international blockade and sanctions, and its people suffer poverty. extreme due to the policy of the mullahs, which added great poverty to the population in all Iranian cities and provinces, “as Rukban says.
The Arar border crossing is located in the Anbar governorate, which runs west and southwest of Iraq, and shares borders with Jordan, Syria and Saudi Arabia.
The Arar crossing aims to allow the passage of goods and travelers, which means another door for imports entering Iraq, which currently imports most of its needs from Iran, the second largest country in terms of trade. with Iraq.
Rukban says: “The media will eliminate Iran’s commercial takeover of Iraq by exporting its products and then using Iraqi money against the Iraqi people and their profits and infrastructure. The more Arab countries are from Iran, the greater the security and stability. “.
Thus, the reopening of the crossing clearly arouses the ire of armed Iraqi factions loyal to Iran, who accuse Saudi Arabia of trying to “colonize” Iraq under the guise of investments.
A statement issued by a newly formed militia rejected the rapprochement between Iraq and Saudi Arabia, the largest Sunni power in the region.
The statement issued by “The Companions of the Cave” threatened that “the Intelligence of the Islamic Resistance (the axis of the factions loyal to Iran) closely follows every move of the Saudi enemy on the Iraqi borders, as well as the telephone communications between Muhammad bin Salman and Mustafa Al-Kazemi “.
But Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi defended the measure, saying during a press conference on Tuesday that “there are those who are promoting the lie of Saudi colonialism! This is a flaw, and a flaw for those who say that there is colonialism in his country. An Iraqi does not accept complaints and does not accept that a foreigner controls him. ” .
“Has investment turned into colonialism? Is it considered colonialism to create hundreds of thousands of job opportunities for our children through investment?” He added.
Due to the suffocating economic crisis, the Iraqi government delayed the payment of its employees for several weeks.
Al-Rukban said: “We hope the Iraqi government will do everything possible to keep this commercial and safe port from manipulation by Iran and others.”
For his part, Allawi confirms that there are challenges that international and regional interests face and that they are the focus of monitoring by private armed groups, “but the Iraqi government has taken new measures to protect border crossings and convoys for the passage of the fleet for commercial movement, including the Arar border crossing. ”
