ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein arrived in Damascus on Monday for meetings with his Syrian counterpart, Asaad al-Shaibani, amid warming ties between the two neighbouring nations.
“During the visit, the minister is scheduled to hold a series of meetings with senior Syrian officials to discuss ways to enhance bilateral relations between the Republic of Iraq and the Syrian Arab Republic,” the Iraqi Foreign Ministry announced in a statement.
The ministry added that the visit is to “develop joint cooperation in various political, security, economic, and commercial fields, serving the mutual interests of the two brotherly countries.”
Hussein’s visit is the first of its kind by an Iraqi official since Bashar al-Assad’s ouster. The trip follows an invitation extended last week in Jordan on the sidelines of the Arab Consultative Meeting.
The ministry said officials also will discuss regional developments and ways to coordinate on common challenges to bolster stability in the region.
The visit comes as the neighbouring countries are collaborating on oil exports, water resources, anti-narcotics trafficking, and the repatriation of displaced persons.
Syria, which ended a decade-long civil war following the ouster of Assad in December 2024, is strengthening relations with its neighbouring countries.
The two countries share over 600 kilometers of border, making it a wide corridor for smuggling narcotics, illicit activity and militancy for three decades. The Islamic State (ISIS) seized control of large swathes of Iraqi territory through the Syrian border in 2014, before it was declared territorially defeated in 2017.
In February, following weeks-long clashes between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Syrian government forces, nearly 5,000 imprisoned ISIS militants were transferred from Syria to Iraqi prisons as part of an ongoing process carried out by the US-led global coalition.
Earlier this year, Iraq and Syria seized over 400,000 Captagon pills in a joint operation, which marked a new phase of stronger security and intelligence cooperation between Baghdad and Damascus.
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