BEIRUT: Syrian and Lebanese officials have agreed to strengthen coordination along their shared border, including measures to combat smuggling, while easing the movement of travelers and goods through official crossings, Syria’s state news agency SANA reported on Thursday.
Delegations from the two countries concluded two days of talks in Beirut focused on improving border controls, exchanging information and addressing operational problems along the frontier.
The discussions came a day after Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan Al-Shaibani and Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam held talks on strengthening bilateral cooperation and supporting security and stability.
During the Beirut meetings, officials discussed smuggling routes and measures to counter illicit cross-border activity, as well as procedures for verifying travel documents and improving coordination between corresponding border posts, according to SANA.
The two sides also considered strengthening liaison offices and direct communication channels between relevant agencies, as well as establishing electronic links between Syrian and Lebanese customs authorities.
Measures to facilitate trade and simplify procedures for passengers and goods passing through official crossings were also discussed.
The talks were facilitated by the International Organization for Migration with support from the EU.
Border management has become a key area of cooperation between Damascus and Beirut as they seek to establish a new relationship following the fall of Bashar Assad’s government in December 2024.
The countries share a roughly 375-km border where smuggling has long posed a security challenge. Since Assad’s fall, Syrian and Lebanese authorities have sought to strengthen control of unofficial crossings used for the trafficking of weapons, drugs, fuel and other goods.
Security along the frontier has periodically deteriorated into armed confrontations. Syrian and Lebanese defense officials agreed to strengthen coordination following deadly cross-border clashes in March.
Thursday’s talks concluded with recommendations to improve institutional coordination and information sharing, simplify border-crossing procedures and identify priorities for further technical cooperation, SANA reported.
The discussions form part of a broader effort to reset relations between Syria and Lebanon on a formal state-to-state basis after decades in which Damascus exerted extensive political and security influence over its neighbor.
That process has accelerated in recent months to encompass security, trade, transport, energy and other longstanding bilateral issues.
In July, Salam and Al-Shaibani signed an agreement establishing the Higher Joint Lebanese-Syrian Commission, creating a permanent mechanism for cooperation between government institutions in the two countries.
During their phone call on Wednesday, the two officials discussed further strengthening bilateral cooperation and continuing coordination on issues of common concern, according to the Syrian Foreign Ministry.
The July agreement also identified trade, cargo transport and facilitating citizens’ movement among areas for expanded cooperation — issues that Thursday’s border talks sought to translate into practical measures.
