DAMASCUS, Nov 9 – The foreign ministers of Syria and Jordan met in Damascus on Monday for the first time since Jordanian airstrikes killed civilians in southern Syria last month, announcing a joint investigation into the incident and signing 11 new cooperation agreements.
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani said Jordan had shown understanding and openness towards resolving the incident in Deraa province, adding that the two countries had set up a joint security and technical committee to investigate the circumstances of the airstrikes.
Jordan said its strikes on October 26 targeted Islamic State militants linked to a deadly attack on a church in Jordan’s Karak province. Syrian authorities said the strikes killed seven civilians, including three children.
“Work is underway to redress the harm and compensate the innocent victims,” Shibani told a joint press conference with his counterpart Ayman Safadi, following the third session of the Syria-Jordan Higher Coordination Council, attended by high-level ministerial and technical delegations from both countries.
“Syrian blood is as precious to us as Jordanian blood,” Safadi said, renewing his condolences to Shibani and the families of the victims. He said the ties between the two countries were strong.
The meeting marked an effort to move past a rare diplomatic test for Damascus and Amman, which have expanded political, economic and security cooperation since the overthrow of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.
Shibani said bilateral relations were at their strongest in decades. The two countries signed 11 cooperation documents covering investment, civil aviation, food security, cloud seeding in the Yarmouk River basin and a proposed railway connection linking Saudi Arabia to Turkey through Jordan and Syria, he said.
Trade between the two countries has nearly tripled in the past year to $330 million, he said, adding that 20 of Syria’s 22 ministries were now engaged in direct cooperation with Jordan.
Safadi said the two countries were working together to combat drug trafficking, a longstanding security concern along their shared border. He also reaffirmed Jordan’s support for Syria against Israeli attacks, urging international intervention to halt them before they pushed the region towards further escalation.
(Writing by Feras Dalatey; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
