Iraqi PM Visits Syria for First Time Since Assad Fall as Baghdad and Damascus Pledge Closer Ties

Photo: Reuters via Al Jazeera

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi arrived in Damascus on Wednesday for talks with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, the first visit by an Iraqi prime minister to Syria since Bashar al-Assad was toppled in December 2024.

Al-Sharaa received al-Zaidi and his delegation at Damascus International Airport, Syrian state media said. The two neighbours are pushing to strengthen political, economic and security cooperation after years in which Baghdad dealt cautiously with the new authorities in Damascus, according to Al Jazeera.

Main News Report

The visit is the first by an Iraqi premier since Assad's fall ended more than 13 years of civil war in Syria. Senior Iraqi political, intelligence and judicial officials have visited Damascus since then, but no prime minister had made the trip until now.

Trade, energy and security topped the agenda. Arab News reports that the two leaders held bilateral talks followed by an expanded meeting of their delegations, with joint initiatives for both countries on the table. According to the official Iraqi News Agency, they discussed exporting Iraqi oil through the Baniyas line, increasing trade and joint work to develop agriculture for food and economic integration.

Al-Sharaa said Syria was committed to the highest levels of cooperation with Iraq. Al-Zaidi said the two countries were working to strengthen security cooperation, coordinate regional positions and develop their partnership across various fields.

Background Context

Iraq and Syria share a 600 kilometre border, and their economies are already moving closer. Al-Sharaa told Iraq's Dijlah TV on Tuesday that trade and transport between the two countries have grown fast in the past six to seven months, with more than 100,000 transit trucks and 40,000 import and export trucks crossing between them.

Energy is the biggest prize. Iraq recently began exporting limited quantities of oil through Syria after shipping through the Strait of Hormuz was disrupted by the Middle East war earlier this year. In July, Damascus and Baghdad signed agreements to revive the Haditha to Baniyas pipeline, which would carry Iraqi oil to Syria's Mediterranean coast. A memorandum of understanding with a consortium of three companies, most notably the American oil major Chevron, was signed to carry the project forward.

Al-Sharaa also called for linking Iraq's Grand Faw Port to Syria's Tartus Port and improving land routes to regional markets, describing Syria as a strategic gateway for Iraq to the Mediterranean and Western markets. He said Iraqi investment in Syria has already begun in sectors including cement.

The two leaders are not strangers. They met last September in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, where they discussed political and security coordination and wider trade cooperation.

Reactions and Statements

"The Iraqi and Syrian people are one people in two countries," al-Zaidi said, according to the Iraqi News Agency. He said the two sides would work to develop partnership and joint cooperation in various fields, especially economic and social affairs, enhance security cooperation, unify positions on regional and international issues, and work for peace and stability in the region.

Al-Sharaa expressed his great appreciation for the visit and stressed the depth of bilateral relations and Syria's keenness to achieve the highest levels of cooperation. Ahead of the visit, he said Syria and Iraq had a historic opportunity to deepen ties, strengthen state institutions and build strong economies able to protect their shared interests.

On security, al-Sharaa urged support for al-Zaidi's efforts to combat corruption and ensure that weapons remain under state control. He said decisions on war and peace should rest with the state and that military and security institutions should operate under a unified legal framework.

The Syrian president also said the two countries should work together on shared water and agricultural challenges, improve food production and make travel between their peoples easier. He noted that both peoples have endured decades of war, sectarian conflict and authoritarian rule, and called for closer cooperation to promote stability, economic development and the eventual return of refugees.

Why This News Matters

This visit matters because it turns a cautious relationship into a working one. Baghdad kept its distance after Assad's fall, unsure how the new Syrian leadership would handle security on a shared border long used by armed groups. A prime minister's visit, with a guard of honour at the airport and a full delegation in tow, signals that Iraq now treats the Damascus government as a partner, not a question mark.

The oil angle matters for the wider region too. If Iraqi crude can move reliably through Syria to the Mediterranean, Baghdad gains a route that avoids the Strait of Hormuz at a time when Gulf shipping is under strain. That is why the pipeline talks, not just the handshakes, will be watched in Tehran, Ankara, Riyadh and Washington.

For Syria, the visit is a step towards normal life after war. Trade trucks, port links and foreign investment are the practical signs of a country rejoining its neighbourhood, and Iraq, as its largest eastern neighbour, is the partner that makes that possible.

Future Developments

Watch for concrete deals in the days ahead. The two sides are expected to announce follow-up steps on the Baniyas pipeline, the port link and border trade, and any agreement on detainees transferred to Baghdad by coalition forces. Al-Sharaa confirmed that talks with Iraqi judicial officials have taken place on assessing those cases, including Syrian nationals who may be eligible to return to Syria.

Security cooperation will also be tested on the ground. Joint work against armed groups along the border, and progress on keeping weapons under state control, will show whether the warm words in Damascus translate into safer crossings. If the pipeline project moves to construction, it would mark the biggest Iraq-Syria economic deal since Assad's fall.

Sources

• Al Jazeera: Iraqi PM Ali al-Zaidi meets Ahmed al-Sharaa in historic Syria visit
• Arab News: Syria and Iraq pledge stronger security cooperation as leaders meet in Damascus
• SANA: President al-Sharaa welcomes Iraqi Prime Minister to Damascus for bilateral talks

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