This Monday, President Michel Aoun discussed the closure of the Jaber border crossing barring the entry of Lebanese agricultural trucks (https://bit.ly/33dL7k7) with Jordanian King Abdallah over a phone call. Aoun asked King Abdallah to intervene to ease the entry of around 60 trucks loaded with shipments of fresh vegetables and fruits from Lebanon, to which the king responded by facilitating the movement of the stranded trucks to their destination. According to RT Arabic, the Jordanian authorities yesterday allowed, under certain conditions, the entry of refrigerated trucks stranded between the Nassib and Jaber crossings on the borders between Syrian and Jordan. Earlier last week, the head of the Bekaa Farmers’ Association, Ibrahim Tarshishi, had urged the Lebanese foreign ministry to summon the Jordanian ambassador to inquire about the real reasons behind these frequent closures, noting that this is the 5th time Jordan retracts its decision to open the crossing. Tarshishi stressed that the Jaber crossing is a vital economic artery for various land export industries, adding that its closure resulted in a slump of agricultural products in local markets and a drop by more than 50% of the actual price of fruits and undermined exports prospects. (Al Diyar, September 5, 7, 8, 2020)