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Jordanian And Iraqi Parliamentarians Meet On Border
by Tareq Ayyoub
AMMAN, Feb 13 (IslamOnline) - Hundreds of Jordanian and Iraqi lawmakers are expected to take part in the gathering at the borders of the two countries on Friday as a gesture of support in lifting 11 years of sanctions against Iraq.
Jordanian Lower House Speaker Abdul Hadi Majali said the meeting, which will be held in a "no-man's" land, would also include representatives from Jordanian professional unions and political parties.
"This is a message that the Parliamentarians from the two countries want the sanctions to be lifted and also a sign of our support to the Palestinian uprising," Majali told IslamOnline.
The speaker was referring to the five-month-old Palestinian Intifada, sparked by the visit of rightwing Israeli leader Ariel Sharon to the al-Haram al-Sharif compound, in which more than 400 people have been killed and over 5,000 injured.
According to Majali, representatives from the Lower House and Iraq's National Council will take part in the two-hour gathering.
The U.N. imposed the sanctions against Iraq followed its 1990-91 invasion of Kuwait.
Jordan has repeatedly called for the immediate lifting of the U.S.-spearheaded sanctions, which has caused the death of over 1.5 million Iraqi citizens, most of them children and women.
Last September, Jordanian Prime Minister Ali Abul Ragheb boarded the first civilian flight to Baghdad in direct challenge to a U.S. self-proclaimed no-fly zone over Iraq.
Iraqi ambassador to Jordan. Sabah Yassin, said the lawmakers' meeting is a "crystallization of the brotherly relations between the two neighboring countries,"
Yassin told IslamOnline that representatives of Iraq's professional associations are also expected to attend the gathering.
"This is the beginning and we expect more concrete steps towards lifting the sanctions especially from the Jordanian parliament," the ambassador said.
During the meeting of the International Parliamentary Union, held in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta last year, participants called for the immediate lifting of the sanctions.
Meanwhile, Yassin expected that Jordan Iraq would conclude an agreement to establish a Free Trade Area (FTA) between the two countries, adding that talks are expected to be held between the two sides on the subject in order to reach an accord.
The ambassador did not say when such an agreement could be signed.
Jordanian and Iraqi trade officials had earlier this month launched talks in Baghdad to reach an agreement concerning the FTA.
Current trade exchange between Jordan and its major trade partner amounts to $1 billion annually.
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