ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq on Sunday said the reopening of one of the main border crossing with Saudi Arabia that connects it with the southern province of al-Muthanna is hinging on the approval of the Saudi side. The opening of the border port will aim to “raise the economic level of the people of the province, as well as to employ Iraqi labor and increase trade between the two countries," Omar al-Waeli, head of the Iraqi Border Ports Authority told Iraqi state media. "The port authority is awaiting the approval of the Saudi side, as they have been notified through diplomatic methods," Waeli added. The reopening of al-Jumayma crossing will come after in November 2020, Iraq and Saudi Arabia reopened the Arar border crossing after almost 30 years of closure. The crossing had been closed since 1991, after relations between the neighboring states deteriorated following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. Since then, it had only opened once a year to allow Iraqi pilgrims passage for Hajj. Iraq and Saudi have enjoyed closer ties in recent years, as Saudi Arabia looks to offset Iranian influence in the region. Rapprochement between the two began in 2015, when Saudi Arabia reopened their Baghdad embassy after 25 years of closure. Saudi Arabia announced last year it would increase their investments in Iraq by 10 billion Saudi riyals ($2.7 billion USD), as reported by Saudi Press Agency. In August, Iraq moderation brought Iran and Saudi Arabia to the table when Baghdad hosted a summit for neighboring countries, a step that was at the time welcomed by Iran. Both countries have had a rocky relationship for decades. Their relationship took a notable dive in 2016, when Iranian protesters attacked the Saudi diplomatic missions following the Kingdom’s execution of Shiite cleric, Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr. Both Saudi and Iranian leaders have met several times over the past months to discuss normalizing ties.
