ARAR, 1 November — About 100 Saudi businessmen and officials yesterday crossed a key border post into neighboring Iraq for the first time in 12 years, a spokesman for the group said.
The businessmen, who represent 42 Saudi firms that are taking part in the Baghdad international trade fair opening today, entered Iraq through the Arar border post, a day after Iraq inaugurated a customs office on its side.
Iraqi Trade Minister Mohammed Mehdi Saleh reopened the Arar border post, 340 km southwest of Baghdad, which had been closed since Iraq’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait.
Saleh also welcomed the Saudi delegation, the largest to visit Baghdad since the two former Arab allies broke ties over Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait.
“The opening of the crossing is a step toward promoting and strengthening trade relations with Saudi Arabia,” Saleh told reporters. He said Saudi Arabia is among countries that supply Iraq with goods such as cooking oil, soap and milk powder under a UN-administered oil-for-food program that allows Baghdad to distribute rations to Iraqis burdened by UN sanctions.
Abdul Rahman Al-Zamil, executive president of the Saudi Export Development Center and a member of the Shoura Council, headed the delegation. The Saudis, who traveled from Riyadh to Arar by plane, will complete the journey to Baghdad by bus.
Isa Al-Qudaibi, head of Saudi customs at Arar, said the Saudi side of the border post had been ready for several months and they were waiting for the other side to resume trade movement.
Iraq and Saudi Arabia initiated a rapprochement during the Arab summit in Beirut last March. During the past 12 years, the Arar crossing has been opened only occasionally to allow Iraqi pilgrims into Saudi Arabia.
Abdullah Bin Mahfouz, chairman of the Jeddah International Exhibition Center, which has set up the Saudi pavilion at the Baghdad fair, said Saudi companies will display a variety of products at the show. He expected Saudi businessmen to sign trade agreements worth $400 million with their Iraqi counterparts during the 10-day fair.
The reopening is expected to boost trade ties between the two Arab states and facilitate transportation of Saudi goods to Iraq. Saudi exports to Iraq under the UN program are currently sent through Jordan. According to Saleh, Baghdad has imported “goods worth nearly $1 billion” from the Kingdom under the program.
The official opening of the Arar crossing will bring to five the number of entry points for goods imported to Iraq under the UN program. The four other crossings are at the Iraqi towns of Trebil on the Jordanian border, Al-Walid on the Syrian border, Zakho on the Turkish border and Um-Qasr on the Gulf.
