Lebanon has held trade talks with Syria as the two countries look to add economic ties to their recovering political relationship.
Amer Bisat, Lebanon's Minister of Economy and Trade, met Syrian President Ahmad Al Shara and his equivalent Syrian minister, Nidal Al Shaar, during a visit to Damascus. The visit comes ahead of the expected announcement of a Lebanese-Syrian Business Council.
It is the latest move in a cautious rapprochement between the two countries, marked by several visits by high-ranking Syrian officials to Beirut, including Foreign Minister Asaad Al Shibani.
The meeting in Damascus focused on “the importance of deepening the Syrian-Lebanese rapprochement, based on the special relationship between the two countries, and advancing it through the Higher Ministerial Committee and the Lebanese-Syrian Business Council,” Mr Bisat said on Wednesday.
Mr Bisat also told the Lebanese broadcaster LBCI that the Syrian president had said “the economy is more important than politics” and had stressed “the importance of investment between the two countries to build a strong bilateral relationship”.
The two neighbouring countries have had a tumultuous relationship, marked by Syria's intervention in Lebanon during the civil war in 1976 and its decades-long tutelage over the country, during which the Syrian regime was accused of carrying out several political assassinations.
After the fall of former Syrian president Bashar Al Assad in 2024, authorities in both countries have sought to reshape their relationship and revive their once-close trade ties. But unresolved bilateral issues, including the repatriation of Syrian prisoners from Lebanon, continue to hinder the detente.
The lifting of Western sanctions has revived international investor appetite in Syria, with billions in investment promised to the new authority paving the way to a much-needed economic recovery.
Last year, Mr Bisat told The National that Lebanon needed to seize the “emerging opportunities” in Syria and initiate long-awaited banking reforms required to lift the country out of its years-long crisis.
The rapprochement between the two countries also extends to security co-operation. In July, Lebanon and Syria announced the creation of a high-level committee with the task of developing economic partnerships and security agreements.
This comes amid simmering tensions along the porous Syrian-Lebanese border, which escalated into violent clashes in 2025 after the new Syrian authorities accused Hezbollah members of crossing into Syria.
The new Syrian government opposes Hezbollah, which was allied with Mr Al Assad, and has announced the arrest of allegedly Hezbollah-affiliated cells and the foiling of several attempts to smuggle weapons into Lebanon.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly floated the controversial idea that Syria could “take care of Hezbollah”, effectively replacing Israel in the fight against the group.
The proposal sparked widespread backlash and was rejected by Mr Al Shara, who said he had no intention of intervening in Lebanon or reopening old wounds.
