Lebanon and Syria are expected in the coming weeks to translate the agreements and understandings reached during the recent visit of the Lebanese prime minister to Damascus into a series of measures and decisions to be issued successively, underscoring a clear decision by both states to move their relationship to a new level of cooperation and coordination after years of a strained relationship that negatively affected both sides.
Among the most prominent steps already under way is the formation of the “Lebanese-Syrian Higher Business Council,” aimed at revitalizing economic and trade relations between the two countries and involving the private sector.
Economy and Trade Minister Amer Bisat explained that “talks on establishing this council began some time ago, and it was agreed that its first meeting would be held at the end of June.” He noted that “it will comprise representatives from the private sector, while the Economy Ministry will oversee it, support and monitor its work, help set its agenda, and provide guidance.”
Bisat stressed to Asharq Al-Awsat the “importance of Lebanese-Syrian relations given that the two countries are bound by geography and history, and therefore advancing these relations is a strategic objective for our government.”
He added: “Institutional economic relations with Syria require modernization, or even a rebuild from scratch. It can now be said that matters have been placed on the right track, and we have embarked on a path that may be long.”
Bisat said the Syrian state had met Lebanon’s desire to improve bilateral relations with “welcome, commitment, and positive will,” explaining that “both sides are convinced that Syria’s success is part of Lebanon’s success, and vice versa, and that the relations being built today are based on shared interests, new and healthy foundations, and mutual respect.”
Abolishing the Higher Council
In October 2025, Syria announced the suspension of the Lebanese-Syrian Higher Council, a body established under the “Treaty of Brotherhood, Cooperation and Coordination” between Lebanon and Syria, signed in 1991. The treaty marked “a major turning point” in relations between the two countries, as it entrenched “Syrian tutelage” over Lebanon, which continued until the withdrawal of Syrian troops in 2005.
According to an official Lebanese source, the treaty and the council “are effectively no longer in existence, although legal steps are still expected to be taken in this regard.”
Professor Maroun Khater, a writer and researcher in financial and economic affairs, said that “talk of establishing a new higher business council between Lebanon and Syria goes beyond the technical economic dimension to reopening the broader question of the nature of bilateral relations themselves.”
He noted that “Lebanon’s experience with the Lebanese-Syrian Higher Council, which emerged under the Brotherhood, Cooperation and Coordination Agreement signed in 1991, remained highly controversial in Lebanon because of the major imbalance in power relations and the political and security overlap that, in most cases, undermined the concept of a normal relationship between two independent states.”
“Based on that,” he added, “no new economic or institutional framework can succeed unless it begins with a deep critical review of the experience of those agreements and the flaws that accompanied their implementation.”
He continued: “Any attempt to conclude new agreements or establish modern frameworks for cooperation will remain incomplete unless the issue of revoking and abolishing the Brotherhood, Cooperation and Coordination Agreement in its current form, which is unfair to Lebanon, is clearly addressed.”
Organizing Economic Relations
Khater stressed to Asharq Al-Awsat that “the need to organize economic relations between the two countries is realistic and necessary given geography and the deep strategic economic interconnection.”
He explained that “higher business councils are usually established to provide a permanent institutional platform for dialogue between the public and private sectors and to follow up on issues related to trade, investment, energy, transport, border crossings, and customs coordination, in addition to removing obstacles to the movement of goods and capital.”
As for the outstanding economic issues between the two countries, Khater said they are “numerous and accumulated, foremost among them the smuggling of weapons, goods, and money, as well as illicit trade through illegal crossings and tunnels, which has drained the Lebanese economy for decades.”
He added that the issue of overland transit, which represents a vital artery for Lebanese exports to the Gulf, also remains key.
“Energy, and the imports of gas and electricity through Syrian territory, also stands out, in addition to customs cooperation, fees, and financial coordination, which has become complicated and opaque following the international sanctions previously imposed on Syria,” he said.
“Among the most prominent issues are the exchange of security information and the issue of Syrian refugees, which remains one of the most sensitive matters given the heavy economic, social, and financial repercussions it has imposed on Lebanon,” he added.
