Jordan Promises to Implement Regulations to Ease Entry and

UNCLAS AMMAN 001493

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/ELA, NEA/I, PRM, AND EEB

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL ECON ETRD PGOV JO IZ
SUBJECT: Jordan Promises to Implement Regulations to Ease Entry and
Residency Procedures for Iraqis

REF: Amman 712

Sensitive but unclassified; please protect accordingly. Not for
internet distribution or use outside the USG.


1. (SBU) The Iraqi-Jordanian Technical Trade and Investment
Committee announced on June 22 that the GOJ would apply "softer
entry and residency procedures" for Iraqi businessmen and investors.
The announcement followed a February 2009 decision by the
Government of Jordan (GOJ) to issue more lenient regulations for
Iraqi businessmen and investors entering or residing in Jordan in
order to enhance bilateral economic relations (reftel). Ministry of
Industry and Trade (MOIT) officials told EconOff that during the
committee meeting the Iraqi delegation expressed appreciation for
the revised regulations issued earlier in the year, but asked that
the scope of the new regulations be expanded. MOIT plans to provide
recommendations for additional measures to the Ministry of Interior
for consideration.


2. (SBU) A senior Jordanian General Intelligence Department (GID)
official at the Jordan-Iraq border confided to EconOffs that his
department had only recently begun applying the entry procedures
announced in February when his department received orders to put
them into effect. The official reported the most significant point
of this new directive was the establishment of more direct security
and intelligence exchanges between the Jordanian and Iraqi
governments on visa issues. He thought the result would be that no
Iraqi would be turned away from the Jordanian border unless a clear
security risk was indicated. He further noted that they were now
seeing increased border traffic due to this "opening of the
window."


3. (SBU) Iraqi businessmen, however, have told EconOffs they have
not been impressed with implementation of the new regulations and
did not anticipate this latest announcement to make any significant
difference since they perceive Jordanian border officials as having
vast authority to do whatever they wish. Muhammad Al-Shammari, an
Iraqi businessman residing in Amman, explained that he did not
believe this announcement would entice more Iraqi businessmen to
Jordan, as he knew several who had tried after GOJ made the initial
announcement in February 2009, but had been denied entry for no
apparent reason. An official at the Iraqi Embassy in Amman
concurred, commenting that for now the more lenient entry and
residency procedures remained, "all talk," with little practical
application in the field.

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