On Oct. 15, Jordan and Syria reopened a vital land border closed since 2015, and almost a month later, on Nov. 19, a Jordanian parliamentary delegation set out for Damascus in what both countries viewed as a major step toward restoring normal relations, which had broken down with the outbreak of the Syrian crisis in 2011. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad received the nine-member Lower House delegation, headed by veteran parliamentarian Abdul Karim al-Dughmi, the day they arrived.
Speaking to the Jordan Times after the delegation’s return to Amman on Nov. 25, Dughmi described the visit as a “complete success” on all fronts, adding that discussions with Assad dealt with restoring Jordanian-Syrian relations to a level “as strong as they were before 2011” and with Syria’s return to the Arab League. In addition, according to Dughmi, talks with Assad and other Syrian officials covered trade, transport and tourism and the issue of Jordanian prisoners in Syria.