Iraq, Saudi reopen border crossing after 30 years

Iraq and Saudi Arabia yesterday reopened their Arar desert crossing, a long-awaited sign of closer trade ties after 30 years of sealed land borders between the two countries. Top officials including Iraq's interior minister and the head of its border commission travelled from Baghdad to formally open Arar, where a line of cargo trucks stood waiting. The Saudi ambassador to Iraq was also in attendance and a delegation from Riyadh was to open the Saudi side of the border. Arar will be open to both goods and people for the first time since Riyadh cut off its diplomatic relationship with Baghdad in 1990, following Iraqi ex-dictator Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait.