DAMASCUS (The Thursday Times) — Syria and Lebanon agreed on Sunday to strengthen security coordination between their interior ministries, after Syrian Interior Minister Anas Khattab hosted his Lebanese counterpart, Ahmad al-Hajjar, in Damascus, the state news agency SANA said.
Al-Hajjar, Lebanon’s minister of interior and municipalities, arrived with an official delegation. The talks focused on coordination between the two ministries on issues of mutual concern, and on widening cooperation to support security and stability in both countries, SANA said.
Khattab described the discussions as warm and constructive. “We reaffirmed the strong ties between Syria and Lebanon and our shared commitment to developing relations across all sectors,” he said. He added that both sides were committed to strengthening cooperation in ways that serve the interests of their countries and peoples and contribute to regional security and stability.
Neighbours with shared pressures
No agreements, timelines, or specific security measures were announced in the accounts of the meeting released so far.
The visit comes as both countries deal with security pressures of their own. Syria has seen a car bomb in a Damascus suburb that killed a man and a girl, while Lebanon, which hosts large numbers of Syrian refugees, saw a fire sweep through a refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley that left hundreds homeless.
