Financial Tribune - The reopening of the Abu Kamal-Qaim border crossing between Syria and Iraq will reduce transit costs between Iran and Syria by 50%, says the co-chair of Iran-Syria Economic Commission, Kayvan Kashefi.

�Iranians would normally send goods to Syria either via the southern port of Bandar Abbas or Mersin Port in Turkey. Such a shipping method would cost between $4,500-5,000 for each container and take up to 40 days to complete. With the reopening of the Abu Kamal-Qaim border crossing, transit costs will drop by $1,500-2,000 and trucks will arrive at Syria within three days,� he was quoted as saying by Otaghiranonline.ir.

Iraq reopened its Qaim border-crossing with Syria on Monday after eight years of closure amid regional turmoil, in the latest sign of normalization between Baghdad and Damascus, and a win for their mutual ally Iran.