Syriaupdated 1h ago2 min read
Archive photo · 15 August 2008Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani Meets Lebanese Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri in Damascus
“On X, a user warned that this ‘move will provoke the anger of the population against the government”
“is ‘ministerial work that has nothing to do with any partisan background”
Photo: © Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 4.0 · Cropped for layout
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Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani met Lebanese Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri in Damascus. Discussions covered return of displaced Syrians from Lebanon and refugee issues.
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Damascus talks begin
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani received Lebanese Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri at Tishreen Palace in Damascus on Monday for talks focused on Syrian refugees and measures to facilitate their return. The meeting included Syrian Higher Education and Scientific Research Minister Marwan al-Halabi, Education Minister Mohammad Abdulrahman Turko, and Social Affairs and Labor Minister Hind Kabawat, while Mitri led a Lebanese delegation. SANA said the return of displaced Syrians from Lebanon topped the agenda alongside administrative, social and educational issues affecting Syrians living in the neighboring country.
Bilateral ministerial sessions began to examine issues within each ministry’s area of responsibility and move from general discussions toward practical measures. SANA also said the talks followed up on the work of joint committees established to address outstanding issues.
Who is in the delegation
L'Orient Today said Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri, Labor Minister Mohammad Haidar, Education Minister Rima Karameh, and Social Development Minister Haneen Sayed were participating in the Lebanese visit to Damascus. The delegation arrived in Syria via the Masnaa-Jdeidet Yabous border crossing and Interior Minister Ahmad Hajjar was expected to participate but did not join the delegation. Labor Minister Mohammad Haidar, who was named by Hezbollah, told Monday that his visit to Syria among a Lebanese ministerial delegation is “ministerial work that has nothing to do with any partisan background.”
Mitri expected “positive results” from the visit as the ministers met Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani at the Tishreen Palace. Al-Jazirah net said the Lebanese delegation included Education and Higher Education Minister Rima Karami, Labour and Social Affairs Minister Mohammad Haidar, and Social Affairs and Labor Minister Hanin al-Sayyed, alongside a technical delegation from the Ministry of Interior.
Refugee returns and education
The Lebanese delegation included Education and Higher Education Minister Rima Karami, Labour and Social Affairs Minister Mohammad Haidar, and Social Affairs and Labor Minister Hanin al-Sayyed, alongside a technical delegation from the Ministry of Interior.
The agenda addressed workers and Syrian refugees in Lebanon and educational and pedagogical issues, including cooperation between the Ministries of Education and Higher Education in the file of students and educational documents and certificates of Syrians.
Hanin Sayed said at the time that around 700,000 Syrians had returned from Lebanon by September 2026, citing UN refugee agency figures.
UNHCR data showed more than half a million Syrians returned from Lebanon last year following the fall of the deposed President Bashar al-Assad on Dec. 8, 2024.
Syrian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Asaad al-Shaybani said the Joint Higher Committee would work to develop economic cooperation and security understandings between the two countries.