Economy can expect a boost

It seems many Jordanian people could not wait to see the border with Syria open up after its closure since April 2015 for security reasons as hundreds already flocked across the Jaber/Nasib crossing since its official reopening last week, to visit their families or friends and buy Syrian goods at favourable prices.

Since the reopening of the border, the once sinking Syrian lira has witnessed a fresh surge due to high demand for the currency. The reopening of the border with Syria offered the producers of fruit and vegetables in Jordan, especially in the Jordan Valley, a break from closed borders with neighbouring countries and a new opening for their exports, whose prices have been woefully depressed for such a long time due to the lack of export opportunities.

It comes as no surprise to learn that President of the Jordan Exporters and Producers Association for Fruit and Vegetables Saadi Abu Hammad was scheduled to visit Damascus on Tuesday to meet with his Syrian counterparts for resuming the exports of Jordanian vegetables and fruit to Syria and hopefully beyond. Jordan once exported more than 250,000 tonnes of fruit and vegetables a year to Syria only to see that trade interrupted by regional armed conflicts.

The resumption of this trade with Syria, therefore, will certainly boost vegetable and fruit production in the Jordan Valley to the delight and satisfaction of not only farmers, but also the country as a whole.

Jordanians who crossed the border experienced warm and friendly receptions in Syria and the same can be expected for Jordanian exporters of not only vegetables and fruit but also other Jordanian products.

The national economy can expect, therefore, a boost once the borders with Syria are once again wide open. So will the national economy of Syria, whose people suffered more than enough over the past eight years, since the start of the civil war in the country.

Now that the fighting in Syria is coming to an end and a political settlement is on the horizon, bilateral relations between Jordan and Syria can be expected to experience more normalisation along many other fronts.