ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iraq is set to reopen the Rabia and Al Waleed border crossings with Syria, in a bid to boost trade levels and revenues, an official revealed on Monday.

Al Waleed and Al Rabia, are two of only three official crossing points between Syria and Iraq, with the third one being Al Qaim, which faces Syria's al-Bukamal.

"The Prime Minister has directed the swift opening of the Al Waleed and Rabia border crossings with Syria in order to increase trade and utilize these crossings for the benefit of the Development Road, leveraging Iraq's strategic geographic location to connect East and West," head of Iraq's border ports authority Omar al-Waeli told state media on Monday.

"In the coming days, we will witness the opening of these two important crossings, which will positively impact revenues and raise the level of trade and transit through Iraq," Waeli stressed.

The Al Qaim border crossing was opened in June of last year, after joint security assessments by Iraqi and Syrian officials.

The move comes after Syrian government forces in January took control of the Al Rabia border, the Syrian side of which was previously controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), after Damascus-affiliated forces moved to recapture Kurdish-held territories in Rojava (northeast Syria).