Iraqi PM Zaidi Visits Syria to Discuss Border Security and Trade Routes

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi arrived in Syria on Wednesday, October 28, landing shortly before noon. This visit marks the first high-level trip between the two nations since the fall of the Assad regime in 2024. Iraqi state media reported that Zaidi is leading a delegation, though officials have released limited details about the specific agenda.

Security cooperation and counter-terrorism efforts are expected to be central topics. The day before the visit, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa told Iraq’s Dijlah TV that the border between the two countries is completely secure. However, recent tensions with Jordan complicate this assessment, as Syria claims a Jordanian airstrike targeting ISIS in its territory killed several civilians.

Economic ties are a major focus of the trip. Al-Sharaa described a historic opportunity to deepen economic cooperation and coordinate on regional security. He emphasized Syria’s role as a trade corridor for Iraq, specifically citing links between Iraq’s Faw Port and Syria’s Mediterranean port of Tartous. He also called for the rebuilding of oil pipelines connecting Iraq to Syria’s Baniyas port. Iraqi oil has been flowing into Syria due to the current crisis involving Iran.

Syrian state news agency SANA reported that commercial traffic between the two countries has risen sharply over the past six or seven months. The agency cited more than 100,000 transit trucks and 40,000 import and export trucks moving across the border. Al-Sharaa also voiced support for Zaidi’s efforts to fight corruption and bring armed groups under state authority. He stated that the decision of war and peace must remain in the hands of the state.

The visit also touches on personal and political history. Al-Sharaa spoke about his time in Iraq, stating he went there in 2003 to defend Iraqis and confront the American occupation without organizational affiliations. He said he was imprisoned around 2005 and returned to Syria in 2011 after his release. The topic is controversial in Baghdad because Iraq views the groups al-Sharaa worked with as terrorist organizations.

The border region has long held strategic weight. After the 2003 US invasion, insurgents crossed from Syria into Iraq through the Middle Euphrates River Valley, particularly around al-Bukamal and al-Qaim. ISIS used these same routes while expanding in 2013 and 2014. Later, Iraqi Shi’ite militias entered Syria to support the Assad regime, and the crossings became part of Iran’s supply network, including weapons moved to Hezbollah.

The outcome of this meeting extends beyond the two countries. Iraq hosts Iranian-backed militias that threaten Israel, and these groups were active in Syria before Assad’s fall. A more secure Iraq and Syria, where such groups cannot move freely, would benefit Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan.