Ahmed Al-Shar' Receives Ali Falih Al-Zaidi at Damascus Airport with Official Ceremony, Bilateral Talks and Expanded Delegation Meeting

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Falih Al-Zaidi arrived today, Wednesday, 28 October 2026, in the Syrian capital Damascus on an official visit leading a high-level ministerial delegation. Syrian President Ahmed Al-Shar' personally received him at Damascus International Airport before a formal reception was held at the People’s Palace, after which bilateral talks between the two sides began.

The visit came hours after a television interview in which Al-Shar' welcomed Al-Zaidi’s arrival and spoke about the border and the transport of Iraqi oil via Syrian ports, while Baghdad places economic and trade cooperation at the top of the agenda. Al-Zaidi concluded his visit this evening and returned to Baghdad.

Al-Shar' receives Al-Zaidi at Damascus International Airport

The Presidency of the Syrian Arab Republic announced that President Ahmed Al-Shar' received the Prime Minister of the Republic of Iraq, Ali Al-Zaidi, at Damascus International Airport, and published photos of the reception that showed the two sides between lines of an honor guard in front of the Iraqi official plane.

Official sources in both countries reported that President Al-Shar' received the Iraqi prime minister and his accompanying delegation upon their arrival at the airport.

Syrian President Ahmed Al-Shar' shakes hands with Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi upon his arrival at Damascus International Airport today, Wednesday. Source: Presidency of the Syrian Arab Republic

Formal reception ceremony at the People’s Palace

After the reception at the airport, Al-Zaidi and Al-Shar' proceeded to the People’s Palace in downtown Damascus, the official venue where the Syrian president receives his official guests.

The Prime Minister’s Media Office said in a statement that “a formal reception ceremony for Prime Minister Ali Falih Al-Zaidi took place today, Wednesday, in the Syrian capital Damascus at the People’s Palace,” noting that “President Al-Shar' received His Excellency and the reception included an honor guard review.”

Syrian official authorities published photos of President Al-Shar' receiving the Iraqi prime minister at the People’s Palace in Damascus.

President Ahmed Al-Shar' and Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi during the formal reception ceremony at the People’s Palace in Damascus. Source: Prime Minister’s Media Office

Al-Zaidi had left Baghdad this morning, and his office announced his arrival in Damascus at around 12:55 Baghdad time, and the site The Iraqi newspaper Al-Wasat had reported his departure from Baghdad en route to Damascus earlier this morning.

A handshake between Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi and Syrian President Ahmed Al-Shar' at the People’s Palace. Source: Prime Minister’s Media Office

Bilateral talks begin at the People’s Palace

Syrian official bodies announced the start of talks between President Ahmed Al-Shar' and Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Falih Al-Zaidi at the People’s Palace, and the Syrian Presidency published photos of the two during the session of talks with the flags of both countries between them.

According to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Media Office, the bilateral talks “addressed bilateral relations and ways to strengthen and develop them in various fields.”

The statement added that Al-Zaidi “will co-chair with the Syrian president an expanded meeting of the two delegations, in which joint cooperation will be discussed to achieve the shared interests of the two brotherly peoples and countries.”

A view of the bilateral talks between President Ahmed Al-Shar' and Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi at the People’s Palace in Damascus. Source: Presidency of the Syrian Arab Republic

Al-Zaidi and Al-Shar' chair the expanded delegation meeting

Prime Minister Ali Falih Al-Zaidi and President Ahmed Al-Shar' today, Wednesday, in Damascus, co-chaired an expanded session of talks between the two countries’ delegations, according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Media Office.

Al-Zaidi, according to the statement, affirmed that “the Iraqi and Syrian peoples are one people in two countries,” pointing to efforts “to develop partnership and joint cooperation in various fields, especially economic and social ones, to strengthen security cooperation, unify positions on regional and international issues, and to work to achieve peace and stability in the region.”

President Al-Shar', for his part, expressed his “great appreciation” for Al-Zaidi’s visit and the accompanying delegation, affirming “the depth of bilateral relations and Syria’s keenness to achieve the highest levels of cooperation between the two countries.”

A scene from the expanded talks session between the Iraqi and Syrian delegations chaired by Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi and President Ahmed Al-Shar' in Damascus. Source: Iraqi Ministry of Oil

Exporting oil via Baniyas, trade exchange and agriculture on the agenda

According to the statement, the meeting discussed “a number of issues, including exporting Iraqi oil via the Baniyas line with an export capacity reaching two million barrels per day, increasing trade exchange volume, and joint work to develop the agricultural sector to achieve food and economic integration.”

The Baniyas pipeline issue was raised following President Al-Shar's comments in his televised interview on Tuesday evening about Syrian ports as an option for exporting Iraqi oil to the Mediterranean.

Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi and President Ahmed Al-Shar' with the flags of both countries between them during the talks in Damascus. Source: Iraqi Ministry of Oil

Syrian Presidency: discussed security, economic and trade cooperation in the presence of ministers from both countries

The Syrian Presidency said that President Ahmed Al-Shar' received at the People’s Palace in Damascus the Prime Minister of the Republic of Iraq, Ali Al-Zaidi, and his accompanying delegation, and that the two sides “discussed ways to strengthen relations between the two brotherly countries and develop security, economic and trade cooperation.”

The presidency added that the sides also discussed regional and international developments and a number of issues of common interest, “in ways that serve mutual interests and contribute to consolidating security and stability in the region.”

According to the statement, the meeting was attended on the Syrian side by the ministers of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Justice, Energy and Finance, and on the Iraqi side by the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, and the ministers of Foreign Affairs, Finance, Oil, Justice, and several officials.

President Ahmed Al-Shar' and Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi during their meeting at the People’s Palace in Damascus. Source: Presidency of the Syrian Arab Republic

A view of part of the meeting of the Iraqi and Syrian delegations chaired by President Ahmed Al-Shar' and Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi at the People’s Palace. Source: Presidency of the Syrian Arab Republic

Al-Zaidi visits the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus accompanied by the Syrian foreign minister

Prime Minister Ali Falih Al-Zaidi today visited the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, accompanied by Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani, according to the Prime Minister’s Media Office.

The office said that Al-Zaidi “performed prayers in the mosque’s precincts and then reviewed the historical landmarks of this Islamic monument,” and that he wrote a note in the visitors’ book at the Khazna Dome in the mosque courtyard.

The office added that the prime minister donated, on this occasion, “a sum of money from his personal account to contribute to what the mosque needs,” and a later statement from the office specified the value of that donation as five million dollars.

Prime Minister Ali Falih Al-Zaidi and Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani during the visit to the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus. Source: Prime Minister’s Media Office

Al-Zaidi visits Sayyida Zainab shrine and donates $10 million to the shrine and the Umayyad Mosque

Prime Minister Ali Falih Al-Zaidi today visited the Sayyida Zainab shrine in Damascus, accompanied by Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani, according to the Prime Minister’s Media Office.

The office said that Al-Zaidi performed the visit rituals and prayers inside the sacred courtyard, and then reviewed the shrine’s landmarks.

The office added that the prime minister donated “a sum of $10 million from his personal account, consisting of $5 million to meet the needs of the sacred shrine and $5 million to the Umayyad Mosque.”

Prime Minister Ali Falih Al-Zaidi and Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani in the courtyard of the Sayyida Zainab shrine in Damascus. Source: Prime Minister’s Media Office

Al-Zaidi concludes his official visit to Syria and returns to Baghdad

Prime Minister Ali Falih Al-Zaidi concluded his official visit to the Syrian Arab Republic this evening, Wednesday, and returned to the capital Baghdad, according to the Prime Minister’s Media Office.

His return came after a busy day that began with President Ahmed Al-Shar' receiving him at Damascus International Airport and included a formal reception, bilateral talks and an expanded session between the two delegations at the People’s Palace, in addition to visits to the Umayyad Mosque and the Sayyida Zainab shrine.

Economy and trade top the agenda

Government spokesman Haider Al-Aboudi had said in a statement prior to the visit that the prime minister would hold talks with President Al-Shar' “on the future of Iraqi-Syrian relations, regional developments and the repercussions of their geopolitical circumstances and challenges.”

Al-Aboudi confirmed that “economic and trade cooperation is a priority in the talks, given the two countries’ need for economic and trade partnerships that turn neighborhood ties into mutual interests and opportunities for development and investment.”

He indicated that the visit “reflects the Iraqi government’s approach of openness, balance and dialogue and its keenness on a positive relationship with Damascus based on mutual respect and shared understanding in support of the security and stability of the two neighboring countries.”

Al-Shar' prefaces the visit with remarks on the border and oil

The visit was preceded by an extended television interview conducted by President Al-Shar' on Tuesday evening, in which he welcomed Al-Zaidi’s visit,noting that Damascus had been among the first to congratulate him upon taking office as prime minister, and saying that “Syria’s stability serves Iraq’s interests and Iraq’s stability positively serves Syria.”

Al-Shar' affirmed in the interview that the border between the two countries is secure, that coordination between the two sides at the border is proceeding effectively, and he spoke about memorandums of understanding signed regarding the Kirkuk–Baniyas line, presenting Syrian ports as an option to export Iraqi oil to the Mediterranean.

A third stop on a regional tour

Al-Zaidi’s visit to Damascus is part of a regional tour that he began with a visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in mid-October, then to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan last Monday, where he and Jordanian Prime Minister Jaafar Hassan presided over the signing ceremony for nine memorandums of understanding and executive programs between the two countries.

Al-Zaidi and Al-Shar' previously met in September in New York on the sidelines of the eighty-first session of the United Nations General Assembly.

Visit outcome and aftermath

The one-day visit concluded without either side announcing the signing of agreements or memorandums of understanding, or issuing a joint statement or holding a joint press conference, while official statements from Baghdad and Damascus focused on discussing the export of Iraqi oil via the Baniyas line and cooperation in security, economics, trade and agriculture.

The Iraqi newspaper Al-Wasat will follow up on any executive steps taken by the two governments to implement the outcomes of the talks.