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Iraq Importers Stuck at Syrian Port; Port's Role Said Growing

Posted on: Tuesday, 22 November 2005, 09:00 CST

Text of report by Qatari Al-Jazeera satellite TV on 21 November

The Syrian Port of Tartus has been witnessing busy activity recently as a result of an increase in Iraqi imports via the port which is considered a crossing point for some Jordanian goods as well. The port embodies interdependence among the economies of the region, but now it has also come to cause hardship to truck drivers who wait a long time before loading their trucks.

[Al-Jazeera correspondent Abd-al-Haqq Saddah] There is an almost endless column of Iraqi trucks at the Syrian Tartus Port. Some truckers spent days waiting for their turn to ship their goods to Iraq. This situation has exhausted the drivers.

[Unidentified Iraqi truck driver] Yesterday, we went to the gate [of the port] but they told us that they do not let Iraqis in. Only Syrian trucks are allowed in while Iraqi trucks remain in their place. You can see our suffering here in the street.

[Saddah] Because the situation is as such, the drivers had to come prepared [footage of Iraqi truckers' food and drinking utensils] while waiting for better times since the Tartus Port is now the main inlet for Iraqi imports.

[A second unidentified trucker] All the goods come to Syria. The goods incoming from Lebanon are very few. As for Jordan, we don't want [any dealings] in Jordan at all for the time being. All of our goods currently come [pauses] I don't decide this but the state imports and determines this route.

[Saddah] The port's administration justifies the column of trucks as caused by the increased dependence of the economies of the region on the port, particularly the Iraqi economy followed by the Jordanian economy at a lesser degree. The port's administration says that the reason neighbouring countries choose the port is the facilities provided.

[Mustafa Hasan, assistant director of the Syrian Tartus Port] During the Iraqi delegation's visit to the Tartus Port, they realized that it is truly the best port for goods in terms of delivery of goods and in terms of tariff.

[Saddah] The customs department also affirms that activity at Tartus Port has doubled in recent years, noting that it has implemented measures to facilitate exit of Iraqi trucks.

[Muhammad Hasan Abu-Zayd, Tartus Customs Department director] We sent a letter to the Customs Department to this effect in order to reduce the number of cars noted in each manifest whereby the manifest would show the data for only 20 cars and once the manifest is prepared, each 20 cars would exit the port to the escort convoy and afterwards the trucks would be allowed to proceed on their own.

[Saddah] The officials expect that the capacity of the port would reach 12m tonnes by the end of the year. The future remains open to all promises. In view of this situation, the economic sanctions threatening Syria will be in their opinion a problem to the entire region.

[Mustafa Hasan] I believe that neighbouring countries need the Tartus Port just like we do. Hence, sanctions will not be in the interest of others.

[Saddah] We might debate whether Syria will be affected by any economic sanctions or not, but what is agreed upon at least here is that the Tartus Port has become reflective of the interdependence among the economies of the region. It has also qualified to be a lung for the Iraqi economy, in particular. This is Abd-al-Haqq Saddah reporting for Al-Jazeera from the Syrian Tartus Port.

[Editor's note: Syrian Deputy Prime Minister Abdallah al-Dardari warned in the Al-Jazeera broadcast on 21 November that any international embargo on Syria "will lead to moves to block off 40 percent of Iraq's trade, which comes through Syria from the Port of Tartus to Iraq".]

Source: BBC Monitoring Middle East

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