BAGHDAD: Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani held talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus on Sunday in the first such visit by an Iraqi premier since the outbreak of the Syrian war in 2011.

Assad and Sudani discussed securing their shared 600km border from security threats, including Islamic State militants, and agreed to enhance cooperation to reduce drug smuggling, they said during a joint news conference.

Sudani said they also discussed ways to combat drought conditions in both countries caused by a reduction in rainfall, climate change and upstream damming by Turkiye.

“We need to cooperate to get our fair share of water,” Sudani said.

Iraq and Syria, which have close economic, military and political ties to regional heavyweight Iran, maintained relations throughout Syria’s civil war even as other Arab states withdrew their ambassadors and closed their embassies in Syria.

Baghdad and Damascus, along with armed groups backed by Iran, cooperated in the fight against the militant Islamic State group, which spread from Iraq into Syria.

Farhad Alaaldin, foreign affairs adviser to the PM, said before the meeting that Sudani was set to discuss combatting the flow of the amphetamine Captagon and possibilities for reopening a Medit­erranean oil export pipeline, which could help Iraq diversify its export routes.

Sudani’s visit comes as other countries, including Saudi Arabia, rebuild relations with Damascus after years of tensions.

Syria was suspended from the Arab League in 2011 over Assad’s brutal crackdown on protests and several Gulf states supported the armed opposition to his rule.

But Assad has regained control of most of Syria with military and economic support from Russia and Iran, Syria was readmitted to the Arab League in May, and regional countries are seeking dialogue with him to end drug smuggling and return millions of refugees.

Published in Dawn, July 17th, 2023