Transport ministers from Lebanon and Syria agreed to reactivate rail connections between the two countries and form a joint technical team to study implementation options.
Lebanon's Public Works and Transport Minister Faiz Rasamni led a delegation to Damascus to meet Syrian Transport Minister Yarub Badr, focusing on strengthening bilateral cooperation in land and rail transport. The two ministers discussed reactivating rail links between the countries, developing land crossings, and facilitating the movement of passengers and goods.
Rasamni emphasised the need to move cooperation onto a practical footing serving shared interests and developing Lebanon's logistics options to access regional markets. He outlined plans to reactivate and develop rail links from Tripoli port through Abdeh to Syria's rail network and beyond to regional countries.
The transport corridor would eventually connect Lebanon to Iraq, Jordan, Gulf states and Turkey through Syria's rail network, leveraging Lebanon's position on the Eastern Mediterranean for regional trade. Rasamni said the aim was to support economic growth, boost exports and imports, reduce transport costs and create opportunities for the Lebanese economy.
Badr stressed that reactivating the rail link was not a new initiative but rested on historical reality when Syrian and Lebanese rail networks were connected. He noted that Syria's railway could be developed after necessary sections underwent rehabilitation to link with Lebanon and neighbouring countries, opening land and rail routes from the Eastern Mediterranean to regional and Gulf markets.
The two sides agreed to establish a joint Lebanese-Syrian technical team of specialists to begin work in the coming weeks. The team will track the discussed issues, study technical options and routes required to reactivate the link between the two networks, and update previous studies to align with current conditions, expected transport movements and implementation requirements.
The Lebanese team will be headed by Ziad Shia, chairman and director-general of the state railways authority, while Syria's delegation will be led by Mohammed Rahal, undersecretary at the transport ministry for land transport affairs.
The discussion also covered a rail project connecting Tripoli port to the Syrian border via Abdeh and reaching Homs, described as a foundational project for linking the port to the regional rail network. Rasamni announced that the Abdeh crossing was expected to reopen within about a week, easing pressure on other crossings, and the two sides discussed plans to develop the Masnaa crossing and secure funding for its implementation.
Following their meeting, Rasamni and Badr held a joint press conference, emphasising that developing land and rail links and modernising transport infrastructure were essential to strengthening economic relations, facilitating movement of people and goods, reducing trade and transport costs, and broadening options for exporters and importers in both countries.
At the end of the official programme, Rasamni's delegation toured Damascus's historic Hijaz station with their Syrian counterparts, examining its historical and archaeological significance to the region's railway and transport history.
