RIYADH: The volume of trade exchanged between Saudi Arabia and Iraq over land hit SR913 million ($243 million) during the first six months of 2023, as commercial traffic at the Arar border crossing saw a significant jump over the past two years. Located 70 km away from the Saudi town of Arar, the Iraqi border crossing was reopened in November 2020 after both nations agreed to resume commercial operations from the crossing point after 30 years. According to a study conducted by Saudi Arabia’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the Northern Border Region, the trade movement between the two countries reached an estimated SR381 million in March, the Saudi Press Agency reported. This reflects close to a 25 percent surge when compared to the SR305 million recorded in January, the study indicated. In addition to this, the study also showed that Saudi Arabia’s exports to Iraq amounted to about SR372.4 million in March, up 26.6 percent from the SR294 million recorded in January. The Kingdom’s imports from Iraq declined from SR11.5 million in January to around SR8.6 million in March, the study added. This comes after the intra-trade growth between the two countries reached $1.5 billion in 2022, an increase of 50 percent compared to the previous year, it was disclosed during the fifth session of the Saudi-Iraqi Coordination Council meeting held in May. On the sidelines of that meeting, Saudi Arabia and Iraq signed a raft of agreements to boost economic cooperation and develop a special economic zone. Under the agreements, the two sides agreed to identify economic opportunities to boost bilateral trade and investments in various sectors. At the time, Saudi Commerce Minister Majid Al-Qasabi and Iraq’s Deputy Prime Minister Mohammad Ali Tamim agreed to enhance trade ties by effectively utilizing the newly opened Arar Port and expediting the opening of the Jumaimah border crossing. This came as the Kingdom aims to raise exports to Iraq to $10 billion over the next five years, revealed the chairman of the Saudi-Iraqi Business Council, Mohammed Al-Khorayef, during that meeting. According to a statement released at the time, the mission aimed to provide export opportunities and promote Saudi products in international markets, with over 37 Saudi and 100 Iraqi companies participating from various sectors, including building materials, food products, and packaging.