The United Arab Republic was a political union between Egypt and Syria from 1958 to 1961. While the name is no longer used, there are several synonyms for the term. These include the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Syrian Arab Republic, as both countries now operate independently. Other synonyms could include the United Arab States, which was a proposed union between several Middle Eastern countries in the 1950s, or the Arab Federation, which was a proposed union between Iraq and Jordan in the 1950s as well. Regardless of the name used, the goal of these political unions was to promote unity and cooperation between Arab nations.