Iraqi PM visits Syria in first trip since Syrian war

FILE PHOTO: Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, attends the Arab League Summit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, May 19, 2023. Iraqi Prime Minister Media Office/Handout via REUTERS

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani began an official visit to Syria on Sunday, the first by an Iraqi premier since the outbreak of the Syrian war in 2011, in a trip aimed at securing their shared border and bolstering economic ties.

Iraq and Syria, which have close economic, military and political ties to regional heavyweight Iran, maintained relations throughout Syria's civil war even as other Arab states withdrew their ambassadors and closed their embassies in Syria.