Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al Zaidi started a visit to Syria on Wednesday, the first such visit by an Iraqi leader since the ouster of Bashar Al Assad in December 2024.
Mr Al Zaidi, who is being accompanied by a federal delegation, is set to hold talks with Syrian President Ahmad Al Shara in Damascus, government spokesman Haider Al Aboodi said.
The two leaders will discuss "the future of Iraqi-Syrian relations, and regional developments and the repercussions of geopolitical circumstances," Mr Al Aboodi added.
"Economic and trade co-operation will be the priority, stemming from the two countries' need for an economic and investment partnership that transforms the neighbourly ties to mutual interests and opportunities for development and investment," he said.
Although it is Mr Al Zaidi’s first trip to Syria as Prime Minister, he and Mr Al Shara met during the UN General Assembly in New York in September, where they reviewed regional developments.
The Iraq-Syria relationship has shifted in recent months from deep mistrust to pragmatic co-operation, driven by the start of the Iran war in February and US pressure for regional de-escalation.
Iraq, which exported an average of 105 million barrels a month through the Strait of Hormuz before Iran effectively closed the waterway, is seeking alternative trade routes, including through Syria.
Baghdad is already moving limited volumes by lorry across Syria to Baniyas port on the Mediterranean – about 500,000 tonnes of fuel oil per month according to the Syrian Petroleum Company – and importing petrol through the same route to cover a daily shortfall of 5 million litres.
On July 18, Syria and Iraq signed two agreements to rehabilitate the Kirkuk-Baniyas pipeline, while a separate deal was reached with a consortium that includes Chevron, UCC Holding and TI Capital, to prepare technical and financial studies for a new two million barrel per day line.
The multibillion-dollar project, expected to take four years, would turn Syria into Iraq’s main gateway to the Mediterranean, Mr Al Shara said in an interview with Iraq's Dijlah TV aired late on Tuesday.
It will link Iraq’s Grand Faw Port to the Mediterranean, while enabling Iraq to connect Syria to Saudi Arabia and other countries in the region.
Security co-ordination will feature prominently in the talks. Since the fall of the Assad regime, Iraq has sought guarantees on the border as ISIS cells remain active, while Syria sees Iran-backed militias on the other side of the frontier as a threat.
Mr Al Shara said that the border was “fully secure” and that no armed group posed a threat to the two countries, and welcomed Mr Al Zaidi’s visit.sit.
The visit also comes as Iraq handles 5,704 ISIS detainees transferred from Syria earlier this year, including 3,000 Syrians, with discussions under way with the Iraqi judiciary over possible repatriation, Mr Al Shara said.
"I believe this is a historic opportunity that has not come to Iraq and Syria, which have suffered for more than 60-70 years from sectarian and internal warfare, coups and conflicts," he said.
