Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said on Tuesday that the kingdom was ready to work with the new Syrian authorities to tackle drug and weapons smuggling across their shared border.
Safadi welcomed his Syrian counterpart Asaad al-Shaibani and other top officials, who are on a regional trip with stops in other Arab capitals including in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
Speaking at a joint news conference in Amman, the top Jordanian diplomat said: "We discussed the issue of the border, the dangers of drugs, weapons and terrorism, and attempts by Daesh to reestablish a presence", using an Arabic acronym to refer to the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group.
"We will work together to confront these shared challenges," Safadi said, noting the establishment of joint committees on energy, health, trade, and water resources.
"Jordan will always stand" with Syria, whose people "deserve a free homeland after years of hardships", he added.
Shaibani, who was travelling with Syrian Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra and intelligence chief Anas Khattab, expressed his hope for warm ties between the two countries.
He also asked for Jordan's help in lifting international sanctions on Syria, imposed during the rule of president Bashar al-Assad who was toppled by Islamist-led forces last month.
He said a decision announced Monday by the US Treasury to ease some sanctions for an initial six-month period was a "breakthrough" that could pave the way for the lifting of all sanctions and allow Syrians to rebuild their country.
"Syria will become a source of security, stability, and cooperation with its neighbors and the countries of the region," Shaibani said.
Safadi has already visited Damascus since Assad's fall, meeting in late December with Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa.
Jordan, one of only a handful of Arab countries to keep its embassy in Damascus open throughout the civil war since 2011, also hosted an international summit on Syria on December 14, less than a week after Assad wa deposed.
Jordan in recent years has cracked down on the smuggling of weapons and drugs, including amphetamine-like stimulant captagon, along its 375-kilometer (230-mile) border with Syria.
With AFP
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