A Lebanese delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri is expected in Damascus on Monday, 2 November. It must address Syrian issues in Lebanon, border control and cooperation between the two States. In Al Liwaa of 2 November 2026, Mitri states that the discussions will focus on the different dimensions of the situation of Syrians in Lebanon. The programme thus combines security, employment, education and social affairs.
Four ministers are to accompany the Deputy Prime Minister: Ahmad Al Hajjar for Interior and Municipalities, Mohammad Haidar for Labour, Rima Karami for Education and Haneen Sayed for Social Affairs. According to Ad Diyar, bilateral meetings with their Syrian counterparts are planned, as well as an expanded session on the return of refugees. A meeting between Mitri and Syrian President Ahmad Al Charaa is envisaged.
Move folders
The visit should extend previous contacts and prepare new stages of cooperation. Ad Diyar refers, on the basis of informed political sources, to a visit by Nawaf Salam to Damascus towards the end of the month. The discussions should also help to prepare a meeting of the Joint Senior Committee and to relaunch the agreements between the two countries.
This institutional dimension crosses the announced dossiers. The management of passages, the situation of prisoners and the resettlement of families require inter-administrational exchanges. The presence of several ministers should allow these issues to be dealt with separately, while bringing them together in the same political approach.
Al Liwaa insists on this global approach through Mitri’s words. The situation of Syrians in Lebanon is not limited to border control. It also covered working conditions, children ‘ s education and social needs, which explained the composition of the delegation.
The return of refugees, the main social project
According to the sources cited by Ad Diyar, the return must be discussed according to a voluntary and progressive logic. The newspaper describes a process slowed down, inter alia, by the lack of international funding for reconstruction in the regions of return. He also recalled the demand for volunteerism advocated by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Haneen Sayed must work on new lists, in coordination with UNHCR, as well as on logistical and security arrangements. Rima Karami, for her part, must examine the capacities of Syrian schools to accommodate returning students. The question of return therefore joins that of services available in the localities concerned.
Ad Diyar referred to a forthcoming voluntary convoy in the second half of November, following the development of an updated mechanism by the delegation. This is a conditional perspective. The schedule still depends on the work announced during this visit.
Daily sources present housing, hospitals and schools as central elements of preparation. They describe a Syrian will to facilitate return, while linking the rehabilitation of equipment with international cooperation. The announcement of a departure is therefore not sufficient to regulate the reception conditions.
Control passages and share information
The border section is mainly the responsibility of Interior Minister Ahmad Al Hajjar. Ad Diyar reports that trade should focus on combating smuggling, including drugs, and strengthening the control of crossing points.
These include coordination between intelligence services and information exchange. The newspaper also mentions a protocol linking travel tracking to land and air crossings. These measures are among the topics for discussion; Their presentation is not worth announcing an implementation already completed.
This case requires cooperation between the services of the two States. The purpose of the visit is to examine the procedures and responsibilities of each person, beyond the display of a common objective against traffic.
Detainees, a separate file of family returns
The authorities must also discuss the situation of Syrians detained in Lebanon. According to Ad Diyar, about 264 people have already been handed over to Syria in two waves. The remaining number is estimated by the newspaper between 1,770 and 2,000.
The daily refers to the agreement on judicial cooperation signed on 6 February and the announcement of the release of 57 persons covered by Amnesty Act No. 70. These releases are separate from the remissions already made. The two numbers do not necessarily describe the same procedure.
The discussions announced must examine the remaining situations and their legal aspects. This aspect cannot be confused with the organisation of voluntary refugee convoys. It relates to the processing of judicial cases and cooperation mechanisms between Beirut and Damascus.
The delegation thus arrived at several timetables to be articulated: the ministerial exchanges of the day, the preparation of return operations and the forthcoming institutional meetings.
Sources
Ad Diyar, November 2, 2026, page 3; Al Liwaa, November 2, 2026, page 1.
Comments