On Sunday, Jordanian King Abdullah II received a phone call from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, marking the first communication between the two leaders since the onset of the conflict in Syria in 2011, according to a statement from the royal court. The statement noted that King Abdullah II and President Assad discussed "the relations between the two brotherly countries and ways to enhance cooperation between them." During the call, the King reaffirmed "Jordan's support for efforts to maintain Syria's sovereignty, stability, territorial integrity, and its people."
In Damascus, the Syrian presidency stated that Assad and the Jordanian monarch addressed "bilateral relations and enhancing mutual cooperation for the benefit of both countries and their peoples." A political analyst in Damascus, who preferred to remain anonymous, mentioned, "This call can be considered as opening a new page between Damascus and Jordan, in particular, and between Damascus and the Arab world in a broader sense.” He added, "It seems that Jordan has become one of the leading countries to resume its relations with Damascus," expecting "mutual visits between the two countries at higher levels, and possibly similar Arab communications soon."
Since the conflict erupted in Syria, the Arab League suspended Damascus's membership; however, Jordan was one of the few Arab countries that maintained its relations with Syria, albeit with limited communications. Several steps preceded the call between King Abdullah and the Syrian president. Last Wednesday, the Kingdom reopened the Jaber/Nassib border crossing with Syria for travelers and cargo after approximately two months of closure due to clashes in southern Syria between government forces and opposition factions. The Jaber/Nassib crossing is the main gateway between Jordan and Syria. The border with Syria is a vital artery for Jordan's economy, as it exports Jordanian goods to Turkey, Lebanon, and Europe, and imports Syrian goods and products from those countries as well. The volume of trade between Jordan and Syria reached $108.7 million in 2020, according to Jordanian official figures.
Additionally, a Syrian government delegation consisting of four ministers—those of economy, foreign trade, water resources, agriculture, agrarian reform, and electricity—held discussions in Amman last week for two days on ways to enhance cooperation between the two countries. These meetings followed a series of encounters between officials from both countries, the latest being a meeting of the foreign ministers at the United Nations last month. Syrian Defense Minister Ali Ayoub also held discussions in Amman last month with his Jordanian counterpart regarding border security, combating terrorism, and drug smuggling. Moreover, Syrian Minister of Oil and Mineral Resources Bassam Touma visited Jordan on September 8 and agreed with Jordanian, Egyptian, and Lebanese energy ministers on a roadmap for transporting Egyptian gas overland to Lebanon, which is suffering from one of its worst economic crises. The Kingdom hosts approximately 650,000 registered Syrian refugees with the United Nations, while Amman estimates that around 1.3 million have sought refuge in Jordan since the outbreak of the Syrian conflict.
