In its continuing battle with drug smugglers, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan has received support and solidarity from neighboring Arab governments that recognize the kingdom’s success in opposing the narcotics trade.
In March 2024, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) convened a joint ministerial council between its member states and Jordan to aid Jordan’s counternarcotics efforts.
Chaired by Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, the meeting drew foreign ministers of the GCC member states, including His Highness Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah Al Saud, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Representing Jordan was Dr. Ayman Safadi, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Secretary-General of GCC Jasem Mohamed Al Budaiwi underscored the strength of GCC-Jordan mutual relations, expressing its support for Jordan in all measures taken to combat terrorism and illicit activities, including drug trafficking.
Also, the interior ministers of Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon and Syria agreed, at the conclusion of a meeting in Amman in February 2024, to establish a joint communications cell to combat cross-border drug smuggling among the four countries.
According to Jordanian Interior Minister Mazen Al-Faraya, the communications cell consists of liaison officers to share expertise, training, capabilities, and most importantly, information about shipments suspected of carrying narcotics leaving any of those countries, their final destination, smuggling routes, networks and cross-border connections.
“We all realized that there is a big problem, which is the drug plague, and that all our societies suffer from such plague, so we agreed today that without a joint coordination effort by our combined countries, there will be no results that we seek,” Al-Faraya said. “We also agreed to follow up on these meetings at the ministerial and technical levels.”
Stepping up a campaign against drug dealers, the Royal Jordanian Air Force conducted strikes inside Syria in January 2024 against suspected farms and hideouts of Iran-linked drug smugglers, according to Reuters. The strikes targeted the towns of Shaab and Arman and a farm near the village of Malah in Sweida province near the Jordanian-Syrian border.
In May 2024, the Jordan Armed Forces repulsed armed smugglers attempting to transport narcotics over the border in Jordan’s Eastern Military District.
“The Jordanian Armed Forces are harnessing all capabilities to strike with an iron fist anyone who dares to tamper with Jordanian national security,” the military said in a statement.