AMMAN — To Iraqi Ambassador to
Jordan Haidar Al-Athari, Jordan is much like Iraq; he considers both countries
home.
In an interview with Jordan News,
Athari spoke passionately of the 16 years he lived in Amman.
اضافة اعلان
“Ours is a story of
the history of friendship between two friendly and
neighboring countries with frequent level of exchanges, expanding scale of economic
cooperation and trade, and increasingly deepened political mutual trust.”
He said that the “profound
friendship and sentiments” between the Jordanian and Iraqi peoples are built on
“solid and deeply rooted historical foundation.”
Stressing “comprehensive and
practical cooperation on all levels,” the ambassador particularly lauded
Jordan’s willingness to make Aqaba port available to
Iraqis, to support the neighboring country.
“To us
Jordan is lifeline.”
In the field of education for
example, the ambassador said “up till now, almost 60,000 Jordanian students received
education in Iraq, and now Jordan’s schools and universities host more than 24,000
Iraqi students.”
Jordan served as a safe haven for many
refugees fleeing prosecution, particularly Iraqis and Syrians, and as such,
according to the ambassador, Jordan is perceived as home by many Iraqis, and in
return, Iraqis living in the Kingdom contributed to the Jordanian economy with
more than $18 billion bank deposits during their stay.
During the pandemic, Athari said
that Jordan offered “invaluable support”, and made it possible for some
3,500 Iraqis to return home during the lockdown onboard 25 planes, “which I
personally arranged and supervised.”
The two countries’ cooperation did
not come without challenges, Athari said, explaining that the pipeline project
from Basra to Aqaba, which was agreed upon in
2013, was put on halt due to the many challenges the area faced, and is still facing,
including several regional conflicts and political unrests, ongoing to this
day.
“Nevertheless, the
deepening bilateral exchanges and cooperation in fields including politics,
economy, trade, education, and peace efforts, strengthen communication and
coordination, and the future cooperation will only bring more benefits to the
two countries and the two nations.”
On a personal note, Athari told
Jordan News that the closeness he feels to Jordan and the Hashemites is partly because
his family, like the Hashemites, is also a descendant of the Prophet Mohammad
and that he is a Hashemites as well.
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