Afrasianet - The tragedy of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria opened the door to talk again about the necessity of restoring relations with Syria, as well as re-joining the Arab League.

Jordan was a pioneer in breaking the wall of political and economic isolation in Syria by re-engagement with Syria at the highest levels.

This step constituted a turning point, not only in the context of the Syrian conflict, but also in the context of the relations between Damascus and Amman.

As for the reasons that pushed Jordan to open again to Syria, they range from security and demographic considerations to potential economic gains.

It seems remarkable that Jordan's move came in the context of what Jordanian officials have repeatedly made clear is that the previous situation was not in Jordan's favour.

The economic factor is among the main factors that prompted Jordan to re-engage with Syria. Syria was important to the Jordanian economy throughout the previous century that followed the establishment of the two states in their modern form in the aftermath of the First World War.

A common analogy to describe the relationship between the two sides is that "Syria is like Jordan's lungs." This was somewhat true in the first decade of the twenty-first century.

Jordan has many convincing reasons that push it to achieve rapprochement with Syria, the most prominent of which is its feeling that it will not gain anything from its continued participation in the efforts led by the West to isolate its northern neighbor. Although the Jordanians are well aware that reforming relations with Syria will not be a magic solution to their country's many problems, a conviction has taken root among many in the Jordanian political class that reviving relations with Damascus will lead to positive results to a large extent, especially on the economic level.

Jordan has already shown a desire to build better relations with its northern neighbor, and perhaps the most prominent indicator of Jordan's desire to improve its relations with Syria was its decision to open the Daraa border crossing in August 2018.

Starting at the end of that year, the Jordanian border regions witnessed an economic boom. On the ground, the new policy was manifested in the form of a phone call between Assad and Abdullah, and meetings between the two countries' foreign ministers and other senior officials, devoted to discussing several issues such as border security, drug smuggling, and cooperation.

The most significant changes that occurred during the past six months affected the economic field, specifically the trade and transit sector.

Before the war, Syria was an important trading partner for Jordan, through petty and small-scale trade that primarily benefited Jordan's border regions, as well as large-scale trade and transit trade (dependent on trucks) that benefited from Jordan's overland connection to lucrative Gulf markets.

Both qualitative and quantitative data indicate improvement at all three levels over the past six months. And if the historical rhythm of the Syrian-Jordanian relations indicates anything, it indicates that the consolidation of economic relations opens the way for cooperation on the political and security levels.

The revival of economic relations with Syria has an important political dimension, whether in terms of bilateral relations or domestic politics.

An opinion poll conducted in October by the Jordanian Center for Strategic Studies showed significant broad public support for the kingdom's decision to re-engage with Syria.

About 78 percent of the 1,208 respondents believe that the greatest damage inflicted on Jordan as a result of the Syrian war was economic in nature.

The two policies Jordan pursued, i.e. opening up to Syria and reopening the Jaber-Nassib border crossing, were supported by 80 and 84 percent of the respondents, respectively.

These numbers, along with field observations and conversations the author conducted in Amman, Irbid, and Ramtha, indicate that most Jordanians approve of their country's new approach to Syria and expect it to yield economic gains.

This "convergence" in relations comes in light of Jordan's desire to return Syria to the League of Arab States, and to deal with the economic crisis afflicting his country. Jordan believes in the need for Syria to return to the Arab ranks because during the past ten years, this absence has been filled by regional and international powers, in addition to that Jordan has economic, commercial and water interests with the Syrian side and is concerned with the flow of goods through the Syrian ports and also the return of the Syrian transport line through Jordan to the Arabian Gulf.

The Jordanian political analyst, Oraib Al-Rantawi, also explained, "Jordan has major interests in and with Syria, including: raising the level and level of economic, commercial and tourism exchange with Syria and through it to its neighborhood... the water file and the common Yarmouk Basin... the war on terrorism file... The war on drugs, whose trade and smuggling operations are witnessing a noticeable increase on its northern borders... the files of energy, Egyptian gas, and the electrical interconnection that provides Jordan with an opportunity to market its surplus production to Lebanon, and perhaps to Syria.

He believes that the development of economic relations between the two countries was expected by Amman, "which had previously spoken that there would be economic openness, because the region, especially Jordan and Egypt, needed support and development."

When they asked the Egyptian Foreign Minister, Sameh Shoukry, about Syria's return to the Arab League and the normalization of relations with it, he said that the talks are taking place with the Syrians in a step forward, meaning that there will be parallel economic and political paths.

Syria was able to impose its existence through its alliance with international and regional powers, specifically Russia and Iran, and therefore there is a fait accompli, and Jordan believes that there is no alternative to dealing with Damascus, and this opinion is shared by Egypt, Iraq and Algeria, which will not accept the convening of an Arab summit on its soil without the presence of Syria Within it and thus its return to the League of Arab States.

The last few days witnessed statements and meetings by officials from Arab countries with Syrian officials, which carried implicit messages, all of which occurred within the framework of normalizing relations again with the Syrian regime.

The Iraqi Foreign Minister, Fouad Hussein, had confirmed his country's work with the aim of returning Syria to its seat in the League of Arab States, on the sidelines of his meeting with his Syrian counterpart, Faisal Al-Miqdad, during the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Al-Miqdad also met with his Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Shoukry, where they reviewed the relations between the two countries and the developments of the Syrian crisis, which reflects the Egyptian openness p. Al-Miqdad's meeting with Shukri came a day after the first's meeting with his Jordanian counterpart,

Ayman Al-Safadi. What is required is that the Arab countries collectively agree on the return of Syria to the Arab League, even if some of them still adhere to the American incitement that classifies Iran as hostile to some Arabs, and if they decide to follow the right path, they understand that the guarantor of all this is Russia, which is present in the region and has great influences. To solve all the problems that arise in the relations between Iran and some Arabs. Conclusion:

The time has come for Syria to return to its place in the Arab League and its contributions to shaping a better future for the region.