DAMASCUS, Oct. 15 -- After years of isolation, Syria's border crossings are under the spotlight again with some of them reopened as the Syrian government has regained the upper hand in the more than seven-year-long war.
On Monday, the key border crossing of Nasib between Syria and Jordan was reopened for the first time since its closure in 2017, when the rebels took control of the town of Nasib and the crossing, which is under the same name, in the southern province of Daraa.
The Syrian Army captured Nasib in July after dislodging the rebels from the southern province of Daraa.
The crossing is the only conduit between Syria and Jordan and is also considered one of the most important land crossings in the Middle East as it was the main crossing for exports from Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria to the Gulf states and vice versa.
The crossing brings billions of U.S. dollars in trade revenue to Syria as well as neighboring and regional countries.
Tens of people crossed the border to Syria on Monday after it was officially reopened. Also, economic delegation exchanged visits through the crossing.
State news agency SANA said the Syrian side entered truckloads of 21 tons of fruits as a gift to the economic delegations in Jordan and in return, the Jordanian side entered a truckload of dates to Syria.
Also Monday, Syria has officially reopened the crossing between the southern province of Quneitra and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
The Quneitra crossing was the only crossing for the Syrians in the Israel-occupied Golan Heights to enter Syria but not for the Syrians inside Syria as they are not allowed to enter the Israeli-occupied territory.
Syrian students from Golan Heights had used this crossing ahead of the Syrian crisis to study in Syria as the government has provided them with exceptional facilitations to seek education in their motherland.
Also, marriages had taken place between Syrians in Golan and Quneitra in the past.
There had been instances ahead of the Syrian war when apples harvested in Golan would be sold inside Syria through the crossing.
As the crossing has been officially reopened, Golan students are expected to visit Syria through Quneitra after they had gone through long trips through Jordan to come to Syria by airplanes.
The United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) has also returned to the disengagement zone after leaving it in 2017, as the separation line between the Bravo gate on the Syrian side and the Alpha gate on the Israeli side is an activity zone for the UNDOF.
The rebels withdrew from Quneitra in July this year, after the Russians reached a deal with the Israeli side for restoring the situation in Quneitra to the pre-Syrian wartime and reviving the treaty of 1974 that ended the Yom Kippur war and designated the lines of separation between Israel and Syria.
Khaled Abaza, secretary of Syria's Ba'ath Arab Socialist Party's branch in Quneitra, told Xinhua that "the reopening of this crossing is reviving the lifeline between our people who are under occupation and on their homeland."
"This crossing is a lifeline for university students and also farmers who want to sell harvest and marketing it in Syria," he said.
Meanwhile, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem and the visiting Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari said in a press conference Monday in Damascus that the border crossings between Iraq and Syria should be opened soon after the major defeat of the Islamic State (IS) in both countries.
Al-Jaafari said there is no reason not to open the border crossings between both countries, saying efforts are being exerted to reopen them as soon as possible.
For his part, Muallem said that the terror groups were controlling the crossings, accusing the countries backing them of standing against the opening of the crossings.
He also noted "we hope that the crossing between the Syrian city of Abu Kamal and Iraq would be reopened soon."
Both ministers did not say when the crossings will be reopened but said it should not take long.
Expectations for reopening the border points came as the Syrian army has cleared large swathes of border areas between Syria and Iraq from the presence of IS.
In July, the Iraqi forces worked to enhance the security situation on the border with Syria, installing cameras and flying drones to ensure the security against any threat from IS.
The border crossing that would be reopened is the al-Qa'im which is located in the southeast of Syria's eastern province of Deir al-Zour in the city of Abu Kamal.
Al-Qa'im crossing is considered as one of the major supply routes across the Middle East, which connects the town of Abu Kamal in Syria's Deir al-Zour to the city of Husaybah in the Al-Qa'im District of Iraq's Anbar Governorate.
国内英语资讯:China hands over 4,000 tonnes of rice to Namibia
体坛英语资讯:Iran to compete at Asian Womens Volleyball Championship
2017届高考英语一轮复习考点落实练:Unit 20《New Frontiers》(北师大版含解析)
2017届高考英语一轮复习强化增分练:Unit 6《Design》(北师大版含解析)
国内英语资讯:Chinese president arrives in Finland for state visit
2017届高考英语一轮复习考点落实练:Unit 13《People》(北师大版含解析)
2017届高考英语一轮复习阅读理解提速练:Unit 16《Stories》(北师大版含解析)
2017届高考英语一轮复习语法专题讲练:第7讲 动词的时态和语态(新人教版含答案)
2017届高考英语一轮复习考点落实练:Unit 19《Language》(北师大版含解析)
体坛英语资讯:Germains double propels Monaco into French Cup semi-finals
2017届高考英语一轮复习考点落实练:Unit 15《Learning》(北师大版含解析)
2017届高考英语一轮复习考点落实练:Unit 22《Environmental Protection》(北师大版含解析)
2017届高考英语一轮复习语法专题讲练:第6讲 形容词、副词(新人教版含答案)
2017届高考英语一轮复习考点落实练:Unit 18《Beauty》(北师大版含解析)
国内英语资讯:Xiongan New Area restricts housing purchase, construction
2017届高考英语一轮复习语法专题讲练:第8讲 非谓语动词(新人教版含答案)
2017届高考英语一轮复习考点落实练:Unit 23《Conflict》(北师大版含解析)
美味的混搭:日本餐厅推出棉花糖披萨(组图)
2017届高考英语一轮复习语法专题讲练:第3讲 数词和主谓一致(新人教版含答案)
2017届高考英语一轮复习强化增分练:Unit 8《Adventure》(北师大版含解析)
2017届高考英语一轮复习强化增分练:Unit 9《Wheels》(北师大版含解析)
2017届高考英语一轮复习强化增分练:Unit 7《The Sea》(北师大版含解析)
2017届高考英语一轮复习考点落实练:Unit 21《Human Biology》(北师大版含解析)
体坛英语资讯:Spanish football club signs accord to coach Chinese players
2017届高考英语一轮复习语法专题讲练:第4讲 代词、It的用法(新人教版含答案)
国际英语资讯:Moreno officially wins Ecuador presidential election
2017届高考英语一轮复习考点落实练:Unit 17《Laughter》(北师大版含解析)
国内英语资讯:Spotlight: Finnish people excited, hopeful about Chinese presidents visit
2017届高考英语一轮复习语法专题讲练:第2讲 名词与冠词(新人教版含答案)
2017届高考英语一轮复习考点落实练:Unit 16《Stories》(北师大版含解析)