Hajjar and Shaibani discuss security cooperation in Manama

Interior Minister Ahmad Hajjar and Syrian Foreign Minister Assaad al-Shaibani met in Bahrain on the sidelines of the 2025 Manama Dialogue to discuss "security cooperation" between their two countries, according to the state-run National News Agency (NNA). During the meeting, the two ministers discussed ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation.

Last Wednesday, a Syrian delegation led by General Abdel Kader Tahan, deputy Syrian interior minister, met with Hajjar, as well as the director general of the Internal Security Forces (ISF), General Raed Abdallah, and the director general of General Security, General Hassan Choucair.

According to Hajjar, the purpose of these talks was "to review common issues such as the fight against drugs, common law crimes, border and passport management, as well as the fight against terrorism."

In August, Syrian President Ahmad al-Shaara called for establishing "state-to-state relations with Lebanon," noting that there cannot be a "geographic curse" between the two countries.

A month later, President Joseph Aoun met his Syrian counterpart in Doha, on the sidelines of the Arab-Islamic summit. In early October, the visit of the Syrian foreign minister to Lebanon marked a new stage with the suspension of the work of the Lebanese-Syrian Higher Council and the decision to now limit bilateral exchanges to official diplomatic channels. Describing his visit as "historic," Shaibani reaffirmed Damascus' commitment to respect Lebanon's sovereignty and the principle of "non-interference" in its affairs.