Transport officials from Jordan, Syria and Turkey submitted a joint memorandum to their ministers on Thursday proposing to reopen the Bab al Hawa–Cilvegözü crossing for Jordanian trucks via Syria, revive the historic Hejaz Railway with Turkish support and launch studies for a modern rail network linking the three countries to global corridors, Jordan’s public broadcaster Al Mamlaka reported. The proposals followed a trilateral technical meeting in Amman chaired by Jordan’s Transport Ministry secretary-general, Fares Abu Diya, with Syria’s deputy transport minister for road transport affairs, Mohammad Rahal, and Turkey’s director general for EU and foreign relations at the Transport and Infrastructure Ministry, Burak Aykan. “These meetings transform strong bilateral relations into practical economic and strategic initiatives,” Abu Diya said. According to the memorandum, Jordan would provide technical assistance to help maintain Syrian locomotives. The three sides also backed efforts to boost overland freight from Jordan’s Aqaba Port to Turkey and onward to Eastern Europe through new cooperation agreements and route facilitation. The Bab al Hawa plan would allow Jordanian transit traffic to reach Turkey through northwest Syria, subject to technical compliance. Both Amman and Damascus have indicated interest in reopening the crossing to restore regional trucking flows. Jordanian officials have recently discussed activating the route to revive exports and reduce costs and travel times for haulers, particularly for shipments bound for Europe. Reviving the Hejaz Railway was another focus of the talks, with Jordan highlighting the line’s potential to support Syria’s reconstruction and regional trade once damaged sections are repaired. Jordan and Syria have already started aligning transport procedures and reopening rail discussions this year, according to recent official readouts. Rahal stressed the role of rail development in facilitating both goods and passenger movement. Turkey’s participation was led by Aykan, who oversees international transport relations at the ministry in Ankara. In recent months Jordan and Syria have held several technical committee meetings in Amman to ease land-transport obstacles, harmonize some fees and explore rail restoration. Turkish officials have also pointed to plans for deeper coordination on cross-border logistics with Amman and Damascus ahead of expected ministerial-level talks.
