Saudi Arabia, Iraq Kick off Early Stages of Military Cooperation

Iraqi security forces stand guard at the Iraqi side of the Arar border crossing in Anbar, Iraq, Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2020. (AP)
Iraqi security forces stand guard at the Iraqi side of the Arar border crossing in Anbar, Iraq, Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2020. (AP)
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Saudi Arabia, Iraq Kick off Early Stages of Military Cooperation

Iraqi security forces stand guard at the Iraqi side of the Arar border crossing in Anbar, Iraq, Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2020. (AP)
Iraqi security forces stand guard at the Iraqi side of the Arar border crossing in Anbar, Iraq, Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2020. (AP)

The Saudi military attaché in Iraq, Colonel Nasser Al-Saadoun, announced his country’s readiness to support the Iraqi military institution.

In a statement on Monday, the Iraqi Ministry of Defense said that the Army Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Abdul Amir Rashid Yarallah, received Al-Saadoun, adding that the meeting discussed “prospects for cooperation and coordination between the two friendly countries in the military field.”

Iraq and the Kingdom have maintained security cooperation throughout the past years. In 2012, the exchange of delegations in the field of border security and intelligence cooperation resumed. A number of senior security officials visited Riyadh, including Qassem Al-Araji, former interior minister, and Faleh Al-Fayyad, former national security advisor.

However, joint military cooperation would be the first of its kind in the history of relations between the two neighbors. While the details and extent of such cooperation are not clear yet, the new announcement reflects a transformation in the bilateral ties, especially with the opening of the Arar border crossing and the declared willingness of Saudi companies to invest in Iraq.

“Iraqi-Saudi relations are witnessing development in the political, economic, security and military fields,” National Security Professor at Al-Nahrain University in Baghdad, Dr. Hussein Allawi, told Asharq Al-Awsat.

He noted that the exchange of visits between Iraqi-Saudi military delegations reflected an evolving cooperation in various fields.”

Allawi also said that the two countries were deploying joint efforts to fight terrorism and working through the international coalition to combat ISIS.

He stressed that his country was seeking to promote economic investment with Saudi Arabia in the fields of energy, petrochemicals and agriculture.

“The Iraqi people are ready to work with Saudi companies to develop their economy and improve the country’s infrastructure,” Allawi remarked.



Sharaa Tours More Syrian Cities ahead of National Conference

This handout picture released by the Syrian Presidency on February 16, 2025 shows Syria's interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa attending a meeting with officials and local leaders in the western coastal city of Tartus. (Syrian Presidency / AFP)
This handout picture released by the Syrian Presidency on February 16, 2025 shows Syria's interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa attending a meeting with officials and local leaders in the western coastal city of Tartus. (Syrian Presidency / AFP)
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Sharaa Tours More Syrian Cities ahead of National Conference

This handout picture released by the Syrian Presidency on February 16, 2025 shows Syria's interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa attending a meeting with officials and local leaders in the western coastal city of Tartus. (Syrian Presidency / AFP)
This handout picture released by the Syrian Presidency on February 16, 2025 shows Syria's interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa attending a meeting with officials and local leaders in the western coastal city of Tartus. (Syrian Presidency / AFP)

Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa visited the coastal cities of Latakia and Tartus on Sunday as part of a tour of the country that he kicked off on Saturday in the Idlib and Aleppo provinces.

The tour is taking place weeks ahead of a national conference scheduled in Homs in central Syria.

Sharaa was warmly welcomed by crowds that gathered in Latakia city center near the Jules Jammal school, which holds historic and national significance.

The school was established in the early 1920s and it helped shape national awareness in the country. It was the launch point for student protests and an arena for electoral tensions between the Baath party, Muslim Brotherhood and Syrian nationalists.

It was shut during the rule of ousted President Bashar al-Assad, leaving it in neglect despite its significance to the people.

Sharaa deliberately chose to greet the people near the school to underscore Latakia’s national role that was usurped by the Assad regime.

In Aleppo on Saturday, Sharaa attended an open dialogue discussion with several social and economic figures from the city and its countryside.

He listened to their proposals and demands, with sources saying that the talks focused on the state of affairs in Syria and efforts to revive it after the war and regime ouster.

This handout picture released by the Syrian Presidency on February 16, 2025 shows Syria's interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa attending a meeting with officials and local leaders in the western coastal city of Latakia. (Syrian Presidency / AFP)

Sharaa stressed Aleppo’s economic significance and role in the industry sector.

He underlined his confidence that Syria will rise again thanks to its people, telling the crowd that the interim government is focusing on setting plans for 2025 and 2026.

The sources said Sharaa sought to assure the people, emphasizing that “everyone was under the law” and that Syria is not a sectarian state.

He urged them to trust him in tackling the issues at hand, reiterating that he was walking the “very fine line between transitional justice and civil peace.”

Sharaa also visited Afrin city in Aleppo which is predominantly Kurdish.

He assured that Syrian Kurds were part of the Syrian population.

He visited refugee camps in the northwest, stressing that returning the displaced home was a government priority.

Sharaa’s tour is taking place amid preparations for the national conference in Homs. Consultations have already gotten underway for the meeting.