Business delegation due in Syria this month — sector leader

AMMAN — For the first time in more than five years, a trade and industrial delegation from the Kingdom will visit Damascus mid this month to discuss cooperation and explore investment opportunities with Syrian counterparts.

"This visit will be the first by a major delegation representing the various economic sectors including traders and industrialists in different areas since the start of the crisis in Syria," President of Jordan Chamber of Industry Adnan Abul Ragheb, who will head the delegation, told The Jordan Times on Wednesday.

The delegation will hold several meetings with Syrian business leaders and representatives from the Damascus Chamber of Commerce, Damascus Chamber of Industry and the Syrian Exporters Union, Abul Ragheb said.

Executives from local construction companies and clearance companies will also be among the delegation, he said.

“The relationship with Syria is very important for us, and it is based on brotherly relations,” he said, voicing hope that the northern neighbour will restore its safety and stability and start its rebuilding process.  

Jordanian industrial and trade sectors are keen on the reopening of the borders with Syria to boost trade exchange and help increase economic growth, he said.

“The Syrian market is very vital for our industries. Syria is also a gateway into several important markets,” Abul Ragheb added.

A total of 1,000 tonnes of fruit and vegetables, worth millions of Jordanian dinars, used to be exported every day to Syria and Lebanon, official figures show.

Preparations have been completed for the visit, and necessary security approvals have been issued for the visit, he said.

During the visit, “we will also discuss Jordan’s role and efforts to help in the reconstruction process of Syria, as Jordan can be a key player and contributor in this regard,” said the sector leader.

Several traders voiced optimism about the visit.

“I really hope the border with Syria will reopen. My business was great before the closure,” Anees Rasheed, a trader in Zarqa city, told The Jordan Times on Wednesday, saying that he saw his best times in his career as an importer who used to bring commodities from “beloved Syria”. 

“I have been in this business since the 1980s, and my business was at its peak when I used to import from Syria since the quality was good as well as the prices. After the borders were closed, all traders lost as Syria was a main source for our imports,” Rasheed added on Wednesday.

Jamal Riad, another trader who owns a garment store in Zarqa city, voiced similar remarks.

“We hope that the visit by the Jordanian delegation to Syria will be followed by the reopening of the borders…we hope that security will be restored in Syria so we can resume importing from Syria,” Riad said on Wednesday.

“For traders, Syrian products were very profitable and of high quality, and I believe if the situation returns to normal as it used to be before 2011, we will see a sharp rise in trading between the two sides,” Riad told The Jordan Times. 

In 2015, Jordan closed the Jaber border crossing with Syria for security reasons, while Ramtha, the other border crossing with the war-torn country, has been closed for more than five years.

The Free Syrian Army (FSA) seized control of the Jaber crossing in 2015.

In October last year, official sources said that talks over the reopening of the Jaber border crossing with Syria were under way “on a tactical level”.

The sources’ remarks came in response to reports at the time quoting Syrian rebels that Jordan had told the Syrian opposition that it was obliged to deal with a recognised state in order to open the crossing and to allow trucks to proceed to third countries.

Rebel leaders were quoted at the time as demanding that the Jaber crossing with Jordan remain under the FSA’s control with the deployment of an EU monitoring team, as is the case in Syria’s northern border crossings with Turkey.

The FSA also demanded that the so-called “Syrian opposition flag” be raised at the Jaber border crossing.