Lebanese PM and Syrian FM Agree on Joint Business Council and Prisoner Transfer

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam announced an agreement to establish a Lebanese-Syrian Business Council and to sign the creation of a joint supreme committee comprising relevant ministers from both countries, which will meet regularly to enhance bilateral cooperation.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Sheibani at the government palace, Salam stated that the meeting aimed to strengthen cooperation between Lebanon and Syria in areas including electrical grid linkage, transportation, goods exchange, facilitation of transit, and the development of economic relations.

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Sheibani said the visit was intended to express Syria’s solidarity with Lebanon and to consolidate the relationship between the two countries. He affirmed Syria’s rejection of Israeli attacks on Lebanon and noted that the framework agreement is a Lebanese matter determined by Lebanese interests, with the Lebanese government responsible for it. He emphasized the desire for any political process to serve Lebanon’s lasting stability.

Al-Sheibani added that Syria believes in Lebanon and seeks direct relations with it, underscoring the necessity of handing over Syrian detainees in Lebanon according to the agreed-upon process with the Lebanese government. He stressed the importance of working to overcome the legacy of the Assad regime in relation to Lebanon.