Karamah border crossing to undergo rehabilitation through EU grant

AMMAN — Jordan on Monday signed an agreement with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) to implement an EU-funded rehabilitation project for the Karamah Border Crossing with Iraq.

Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Mary Kawar and IOM Chief of Mission Enrico Ponziani signed the agreement, a Planning Ministry statement said.  

Kawar was quoted in the statement as saying that the grant aims at improving the security procedures and facilitating the movement of passengers and goods at the crossing, in order to enhance efforts to rehabilitate the crossing based on the expectations of the movement growth and return to normalcy, after years of closure for security reasons. 

Kawar thanked the EU for its support, and expressed Jordan’s desire to sustain cooperation and coordination with the EU.   

The project will be implemented by the IOM in cooperation with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the statement said.

Minister of Public Works and Housing Falah Omoush also thanked the EU for the grant, saying that the rehabilitation works will help facilitate the flow of people and goods at the crossing (which has been closed since 2015). 

EU Ambassador to Jordan Andrea Fontana said that upgrades to the crossing would be implemented through an “integrated border management approach", with a focus on the current situation of the Jordanian-Iraqi border.

Ponziani noted that communities near remote borders need more support to overcome the challenges they face, adding that the EU-funded project will contribute to supporting the economies of Mafraq Governorate, 80km northeast of Amman, and Anbar governorate in Iraq. 

The Karamah crossing, 331km away from Amman, is the only border crossing between Jordan and Iraq.