Mikati discusses 'shared files' between Beirut and Damascus with head of Lebanese-Syrian High Cooperation Council

Lebanon's caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, met with Nasri Khoury, Secretary General of the Lebanese-Syrian High Council for Cooperation, on Tuesday to discuss "common issues" between the two countries, at a time when the issue of Syrian migrants is causing a stir in Beirut. During their meeting, Mikati and Khoury discussed "the situation" between Lebanon and Syria, according to the state-run National News Agency (NNA).

Last week, the Lebanese authorities announced their willingness to cooperate with Damascus on the deportation of Syrian detainees from Lebanese prisons.

The High Council was created with the signing of the fraternity and cooperation agreement between Lebanon and Syria in 1991, under the mandate of President Elias Hraoui. The withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon in 2005, followed by the assassination of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and the inauguration of the Syrian embassy in Beirut in 2008, gradually curtailed the activities of the High Council, although it continues to exist and its secretary general, Nasri Khoury, holds occasional meetings with Lebanese leaders to discuss current issues.

Since 2011, when the war in Syria began after anti-government protests were violently repressed, no leading political figures have visited Syria, with contacts between the two countries limited to security officials, ministers and members of parliament. Former President Michel Aoun visited the Syrian capital Damascus in June 2023 after he left office. This situation has not been affected by Syria's reintegration into the Arab League almost a year ago. While a fringe of the Lebanese political class calls for cooperation with the Assad regime, for commercial reasons and in connection with Syrian refugees and migrants, part of the opposition is still hostile.

This article originally appeared in French in L'Orient-Le Jour.