According to media reports, Iraq indicated that the opening of the crossing will be delayed for about 10 days, where Iraqi officials attributed the reason of the delaing of the opening to “logistical reasons related to the work of electricity and service equipments which have not been completed yet.” The amount allocated for the rehabilitation of the crossing reached one billion and 500 million Iraqi dinars.

The reopening of the Al-Qaim-Albukamal crossing between Syria and Iraq has a great economic importance to both countries, as the volume of trade exchange between them was the largest before the war. For the economies of Syria and Iraq, the reopening of the crossing is expected to result in a gradual return of those exchanges to the pre-war level.

It is noteworthy that Syria and Iraq are sharing 3 border crossings, the crossing of “Alarabia” (Rabia from the Iraqi side) in the province of Hasaka, the crossing “Albukamal” in the province of Deir Ezzor (Qaim from the Iraqi side) and the “Tanf” crossing (Al-Waleed) in the South of Deir Ezzor.