Iraqi PM arrives in Damascus for an official visit

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus, Syria. Photo: PMO Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi arrived in Damascus on Wednesday for an official visit to Syria, where he will meet President Ahmed al-Sharaa. The trip marks the first high-profile visit by an Iraqi premier to Syria since the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024 and the establishment of al-Sharaa’s administration. Al-Zaidi is accompanied by a high-level ministerial delegation aiming to strengthen economic, political, and security connections with the neighboring country. The Iraqi prime minister’s agenda in Syria includes expanding commercial partnerships in trade, transport, agriculture, and water. The two leaders are expected to focus on expanding oil export routes, following a memorandum of understanding signed earlier to revive a pipeline linking Iraq’s oil output to the port of Baniyas on the Mediterranean. The discussions are expected to cover tightening control over shared borders and aligning counter-terrorism efforts. Al-Sharaa noted ahead of the visit that the border is secure and that intelligence and military coordination are actively underway. The two leaders’ meeting is the second after they met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York last month. Al-Zaidi’s visit to Syria signals a broader strategy by both nations to transition neighborhood ties into sustainable developmental and security frameworks.