Iraq and Saudi Arabia reopen their border after thirty years of closure
Today, after three decades, Iraq and Saudi Arabia have reopened one of their two border crossings, Yadida Arar, which has been blocked since the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990.
Following a ceremony attended by the Iraqi interior minister, Ozman al Ganmi, and the Saudi ambassador to Iraq, Abdulaziz al Shammari, the reopening of the crossing point will make it possible to resume the exchange of goods by land between the two countries, the Iraqi Border Port Authority stated.
Immediately after its reactivation, 15 buses from Saudi Arabia passed through it with sanitary material and medicines donated to Iraq by the Saudi government.
The head of the Iraqi Border Crossing Authority considered the reopening to be an important step for his country, as the Yadida Arar crossing will become the main gateway from the Gulf countries.
A week ago Baghdad and Riyadh reached a final agreement to reopen this crossing, the first of two between the two Arab countries through which, after 30 years, it will be possible to transit continuously.
Until now, both crossings have only been opened once a year for Iraqi pilgrims who cross the border to make the "axe", the pilgrimage to Mecca.
The Yadida Arar crossing, located in the northeast of the Saudi kingdom, is one of the two border crossings shared by Saudi Arabia and Iraq and has been closed since the Gulf War, as has Al Yamima.
After the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in August 1990, both countries broke off diplomatic relations and interrupted their air traffic and closed their common border.
Iraq reopened its embassy in Riyadh after the overthrow of the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in 2003, but Saudi Arabia only reopened its diplomatic headquarters in Baghdad in 2016 owing to its reluctance to the Iraqi government, which is Shia-oriented and close to its rival, Iran.
However, in 2017 diplomatic rapprochement between the two countries began with the resumption of flights and the signing of commercial contracts.