"Northern Kingdom" awaits the acceleration of events in southern Syria

Amman - AlAnbat - Alaa Allan 

Events are accelerating and the level of questions is rising in the popular and official Jordanian mood When talking about the rapid developments in the Syrian south bordering the northern border of Jordan,It is now common knowledge that the Syrian side has moves towards the restoration of the South with all options, whether reconciliation or military intervention.Many questions remain outstanding, the most prominent about the fate of armed groups at the moment of decisiveness and where will go and other questions remains the answer to them at the moment of zero.

Jordanian Minister of State for Information and Government Spokeswoman Jumana Ghneimat announced in a televised interview recently that Jordan is in contact with partners on the areas of reducing the escalation in the south of Syria,Stressing that the coming days may bear some developments in this aspect, adding that Jordan will work to protect its interests.

Minister Ghneimat did not announce any new details about what is happening or what are the possible developments, which raises many questions about the Jordanian vision of this file in case the current escalation in the south is not encircled?

Ghaneimat's remarks came after an official absence from commenting on the events in the Syrian south, because there is Jordanian conviction that it is enough to monitor the situation and follow up through the Russian and American gates.

In Talking about the developments in the south of Syria, the talk is about the possibility of opening the crossings between the two countries and to go back, the crossing of Naseeb-Jaber Has not stopped working since the outbreak of the Syrian crisis in March 2011, but continued to work until September 2015, after the control of armed Syrian factions at the crossing.

At the time, when the official Jordan decided to close the crossing of Naseeb - Jaber it had security precautions related to the safety of passengers in both directions because of the increasing events on the other side,At the same time, Jordan refused to deal with the militants during their control over the crossing and only took the necessary precautions to protect the border.

In reference to the official Jordanian figures, which were seen by the AlAnbat , when talking about the work of the crossings between the two countries, the number of passengers to Syria in 2010 doubled by 90 days because it was issued a decision to cancel the departure tax,The number of departures through the border crossings of Jaber and Ramtha by the end of March 29, 2010 about 822 thousand people compared to 500 thousand people in the first three months of 2009.

At the time, when the official Jordan decided to close the crossing of Naseeb - Jaber it had security precautions related to the safety of passengers in both directions because of the increasing events on the other side,At the same time, Jordan refused to deal with the militants during their control over the crossing and only took the necessary precautions to protect the border.

In reference to the official Jordanian figures, which were seen by the Nabataeans, when talking about the work of the crossings between the two countries, the number of passengers to Syria in 2010 doubled by 90 days because it was issued a decision to cancel the departure tax,The number of departures through the border crossings of Jaber and Ramtha by the end of March 29, 2010 about 822 thousand people compared to 500 thousand people in the first three months of 2009.

The number of departures through Gaber Center for the first quarter of 2010 was 572603 thousand passengers compared to the same period in 2009, which reached the number of departures 397357 thousand passengers.

The number of arrivals through the two centers for the first three months of 2010 was 884012 compared to 532721 for the same period in 2009, and the number of arrivals to 636552 through the Jaber Center, while the number of arrivals through the center of Ramtha 247460 thousand passengers.

Politically, the Jordanian-Syrian relations have not been interrupted since the outbreak of the Syrian crisis in March 2011. Diplomatic representation remains between the two countries. The Syrian Embassy in Amman routinely receives Syrian citizens, as does the Jordanian embassy in Damascus, but this does not hide the coldness of relations between the two countries. 

Economically, many traders rely on the opening of the crossings because Jordan enjoys advantages that enable it to enter the Syrian market in the coming period, such as geographic proximity, product quality and price competition, in addition to the existence of Syrian support working in the Jordanian economy and understanding the requirements of the Syrian market.

South Syria is also a major component of the Syrian food basket for the production of agricultural crops such as wheat, vegetables, olives and others. It also serves as a gate for Syrian exports to Jordan, Egypt and the Gulf States. .

It is worth mentioning that the Nisib crossing is the main crossing point between Syria and Jordan. There are two border crossings between Jordan and Syria, Jabir from the Jordanian side and Nisib from the Syrian side. In addition to the other crossing is Ramtha from the Jordanian side, From the Syrian side. "

Translated by : Diana Hilal