Trade delegation delays visit to Damascus

AMMAN — A trade and industrial delegation from the Kingdom that was scheduled to visit Damascus for talks on cooperation in the middle of this month postponed the visit amidst reports of possible strikes on Syria and visits by several trade delegations to Jordan.

The visit, which was scheduled for April 16th, would have been the first by a Jordanian business delegation to Syria in more than five years.

“We took the decision to visit Syria long time ago, but some developments unfolded and we had to reschedule it,” Mohammad Rifai, vice president of Jordan Chamber of Industry, told The Jordan Times on Thursday.

Trade and industry chambers in Jordan have been recently informed of visits by several business delegations from the Netherlands, Romania, Singapore and Ethiopia during next week, which is one of the reasons to postpone the visit, he said.

“We also take the security situation into account, especially that there are various media reports about possible escalation in Syria…We certainly take the safety of the delegation’s members seriously,” Rifai said.

The Jordanian business delegation, he said, will reschedule its visit to Damascus to meet with counterparts after the situation returns to normal and the foreign business delegations visiting the Kingdom end their businesses in Jordan.

“We expect to visit Damascus sometime at the end of this month after making sure that all is set and the situation is suitable,” he said.

Rifai added that the Syrian counterparts were notified of the delay.

On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump warned Russia of imminent military action in Syria over a suspected poison gas attack, declaring that missiles “will be coming” and lambasting Moscow for standing by Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Trump was reacting to a warning from Russia on Tuesday that any US missiles fired at Syria over the deadly assault on a rebel enclave would be shot down and the launch sites targeted.

The Jordanian business delegation, representing the various economic sectors including traders and industrialists was planning to discuss in Damascus resuming the cooperation and the reopening of the borders between the two countries, along with Jordan’s private sector’s role in the reconstruction process in Syria.

In 2015, Jordan closed the Jaber border crossing with Syria for security reasons, while Ramtha, the other border crossing with the war-torn country, has been closed for more than five years.