Syrian freight trucks containing everything from food to clothes destined for
Iraq are languishing at Al-Qaim border crossing despite a deal having been
reached to settle a long-running dispute more than two months ago.
اضافة اعلان
Iraqi and Syrian
officials began talks to fully reopen the crossing in 2021, finally reaching an agreement on January 5
this year to allow Syrian freight trucks to enter Iraq through Al Qaim. The
full opening of the crossing was supposed to follow in a matter of days, yet
nothing changed.
The delay in
implementing the deal should not come as a shock. While handshakes were
extended and agreements were signed between high-level state officials,
influential forces — both foreign and domestic — including non-state actors,
have worked in the shadows to prevent the opening out of their own
self-interests, as well as fear of increased drug smuggling.
In February
2022, Syrian state newspaper Tishreen
revealed that the then-Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi had
ordered Syrian trucks carrying freight to be allowed to enter the country. This
order, however, was not implemented either.
No longer a COVID
closure
Iraq originally
closed its only active border crossing with Syria to Syrian freight trucks at
the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, with
authorities citing security and health concerns. The Syrian
government responded with similar measures on Iraqi trucks in a tit-for-tat
move.
Influential forces — both foreign and domestic — including non-state actors, have worked in the shadows to prevent the opening out of their own self-interests, as well as fear of increased drug smuggling
However, when the
Syrian government lifted restrictions on Iraqi trucks in 2021,
Iraqi authorities did not reciprocate. Since then, Syrian officials have been
trying to persuade the Iraqi government to allow Syrian trucks to enter the
country. Notably, the Iraqi authorities allow lorries coming from other
neighboring countries, namely Jordan and Iran, to enter
without restriction, which shows that the ban is no longer about COVID-19
related concerns.
As a result of the
restrictions, truck owners moving goods from Syria to Iraq must unload freight
from their trucks only to have it reloaded on to Iraqi trucks at the border
crossings.
Syrian goods and
domestic Iraqi demand
Muhammad Riyad
Al-Sairafi, head of the Syrian International Freight Forwarding
Association, downplayed the challenges on February
1, while blaming the delay on setting up a special mechanism with Baghdad to
help issue multiple-entry visas to Syrian truck drivers.
However, this never
came to fruition.
Meanwhile, Mohammed
Kishore, chairman of a different but similarly named organization, the Syrian
Federation of International Freight Forwarders, painted a different, and
likely more accurate, picture two weeks before Sairafi’s comments. The
agreement, according to Kishore, has not been
implemented over the objections of “influential Iraqi non-state actors”.
If Syrian products flooded the market again, produce from Iran and Iraq would face competition, driving their prices down.
Those entities
allegedly want the price of Syrian goods to remain inflated due to the supply
shortage. If Syrian products flooded the market again, produce from Iran and
Iraq would face competition, driving their prices down.
Lowering shipment costs to Iraq is expected to double Syria’s total exports and provide a
much-needed boost to the Syrian economy. Currently, the cost of shipping a loaded
truck from Syria to Iraq is between $6,000 and $7,000. In comparison, a similar
freight entering from Turkey costs around
$2,200.
The difference in
costs goes to the companies responsible for transferring goods to Iraqi trucks
before crossing the border at Al-Qaim. Obviously, these companies have much to
lose if the restrictions were to loosen.
Fears of a drug
deluge
But they are not
the only ones opposing lifting the ban. There are fears that easing restrictions would
increase the scale of drugs trafficked from Syria. An Iraqi government official
said those concerns were shared by the US and Gulf countries, especially Saudi
Arabia.
Syria is the
world's largest producer of the
amphetamine Captagon. Income from the drug dwarfs that of Syria’s legal
exports with estimates saying the industry was worth $5.7 billion in 2021 and could be
as high as $10 billion a year. The main market
for Captagon is Saudi Arabia, followed by other Middle Eastern countries. Any
easing of restrictions on trucks leaving Syria would likely increase the flow
of drugs to and through Iraq.
Syria is the world's largest producer of the amphetamine Captagon. Income from the drug dwarfs that of Syria’s legal exports with estimates saying the industry was worth $5.7 billion in 2021 and could be as high as $10 billion a year.
The Iraqi
government source also highlighted that some state-backed militias in Iraq,
known as Popular Mobilization Units, were also against lifting the ban — albeit
for completely different motives.
The militias
are reportedly controlling the flow of drugs into Iraq.
Hence, their concern is that lifting the ban may challenge their monopoly over
the trade by allowing others to smuggle drugs without paying dues.
The increased normalization of ties between Arab
countries and the Syrian regime following the devastating earthquake that hit
Syria and Turkey might help ease the way for the border agreement to finally be
implemented. But longer-term, real change in freeing up trade between Syria and
its neighbors would likely be driven by the potential economic benefits that
could come from bringing Syrian leader Bashar Al Assad back into the Arab
fold.
Unfortunately, the
implementation of the border agreement will not be the result of reining in
non-state actors benefiting from the current arrangement. On the contrary, it
could allow them to find new ways to expand their gains by enabling Syria’s
illicit drug trade to grow exponentially and pose an increasing health and
security risk to Iraq, the region, and beyond.
Dr Haid Haid is
a Syrian columnist and a consulting associate fellow of Chatham
House’s Middle East and North Africa program. Twitter: @HaidHaid22. Syndication
Bureau.
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