Iraq’s Faiq Zaidan Meets Syrian Justice Minister, Pledges Judicial Cooperation

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – The head of Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council, Faiq Zaidan, arrived in Damascus on Thursday for an official visit and met with Syrian Justice Minister Mazhar Abdulrahman, offering Iraq’s judicial expertise to support Syria’s efforts to build its state institutions.

During the meeting, Zaidan praised Syria’s efforts to build the state across different fields and said Iraq was ready to provide judicial cooperation and experience.

“We highly value your efforts to build the Syrian state in all different fields. As the Supreme Judicial Council, we are ready to provide all forms of cooperation and our experience in the judicial field to our Syrian brothers,” Zaidan said.

The visit comes as Baghdad and Damascus have increased their coordination in security and judicial affairs. Zaidan’s visit is aimed at strengthening legal and judicial cooperation between the two countries.

Syrian Justice Minister Mezher Abdulrahman welcomed the Iraqi delegation, saying relations between Baghdad and Damascus have advanced significantly in recent times, particularly in the economic and security fields.

Abdulrahman said Syria was looking forward to deeper judicial cooperation between the two countries, stressing that Syria is entering a new phase focused on building state institutions and the rule of law.

“Syria is today entering a new phase. Our main objective at this stage is to build a state of laws and institutions,” Abdulrahman said.

According to analysts familiar with the situation, the visit may also include discussions on issues related to detained ISIS members who have been transferred to Iraqi prisons.

In recent periods, a large number of ISIS members were transferred from prisons operated by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Hasakah province to prisons in Iraq, in coordination with the Iraqi government.