Iraq, Saudi Arabia to open third border crossing

An Iraqi woman stands at passport control as she waits to have her passport stamped at the Arar southern Iraqi border crossing with Saudi Arabia on 11 November 2009. [MOHAMMED SAWAF/AFP via Getty Images]

The governor of the southern Iraqi governorate of Najaf, Luay Al-Yasiri, said Iraq and Saudi Arabia have agreed to open a third border crossing through the province to increase trade and facilitate the movement of pilgrims.

Speaking to the local Al-Sabah newspaper, Al-Yasiri said the local authorities in Najaf began constructing the land road linking the governorate with the Saudi border in December, with the aim of opening a new crossing that contributes to reviving tourism, increasing trade and facilitating the movement of pilgrims between the two countries.

“We hope the border crossing would include areas for trade exchange similar to the Arar and Al-Jumaymah border crossings between the two countries,” he added.

The official noted that the Iraqi financial crisis and the war against Daesh in 2014 delayed the completion of the project which is being implemented.

READ: Controversy as Saddam Hussein’s daughter appears on TV

Unless otherwise stated in the article above, this work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. If the image(s) bear our credit, this license also applies to them. What does that mean? For other permissions, please contact us.