BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Syria’s foreign minister made his first visit to Iraq since the fall of Bashar al-Assad, and called on Baghdad to reopen the border between the two countries that it had shut in the wake of the revolt that toppled him.
Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani said the aim of Friday’s visit was to enhance trade between the two countries, and reopening the border would be a fundamental step in doing so.
Iraq, which battled Islamic State fighters that captured territory on both sides of the border from 2014-2017, shut the frontier on security grounds following the revolt that toppled Assad.
Shibani said that Damascus was ready to cooperate with Baghdad in combating Islamic State, adding that “Syria’s security is integral to Iraq’s security”.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein also stressed the importance of international coordination to fight Islamic State.
(Reporting by Ahmed Rasheed and Muayad Kenany; Writing by Enas Alashray; Editing by Alison Williams)
