The Jordanian Armed Forces hosted a high-level military meeting in Amman on Tuesday, August 11, bringing together military leaders from Jordan, Syria, Iraq, and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq to discuss border security and strengthen coordination against cross-border threats.
The meeting was attended by Maj. Gen. Ali Nour al-Din al-Naasan, Chief of the General Staff of the Syrian Army and Armed Forces, Maj. Gen. Yousef Ahmed al-Huneiti, Chairman of Jordan’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, Lt. Gen. Abdul Amir Rashid Yarallah, Chief of Staff of the Iraqi Army, and Shoresh Ismail, Minister of Peshmerga Affairs in the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq, according to the Jordanian Armed Forces’ official website.
The Jordanian Armed Forces said the meeting came as “an affirmation of the continuity of relations among the participating parties and their commitment to developing them,” as well as to strengthen frameworks for military cooperation and coordination amid the region’s “rapidly evolving security challenges,” in a way that serves shared interests and supports regional security and stability.
The participants discussed several issues of common interest, foremost among them regional security and border security amid current developments, as well as ways to strengthen coordination and cooperation to confront “various cross-border threats and risks.”
The participants stressed the importance of maintaining communication and exchanging information and expertise to strengthen their collective ability to address security challenges, emphasizing that regional developments require greater coordination and integration of efforts among the countries concerned.
They also affirmed that protecting borders and confronting security threats require “joint and sustained action” to strengthen the ability of countries in the region to protect their security and sovereignty and maintain stability.
The participants also stressed the importance of building on existing relations and expanding areas of military and security cooperation and coordination to improve preparedness and the ability to address current and future challenges.
The meeting brought together four military and security parties that share borders and security interests in a region facing challenges linked to smuggling, armed groups, and border security, as regional countries seek to increase information sharing and coordination over cross-border risks.
Ongoing Jordanian-Syrian Coordination
The meeting comes as part of ongoing security and military coordination between Syria and Jordan that has intensified in recent months and included meetings at the political, military, and security levels.
On March 12, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa received a high-level Jordanian delegation in Damascus that included Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Yousef Ahmed al-Huneiti, and General Intelligence Director Ahmad Husni. Syrian officials attending included Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra and former General Intelligence chief Hussein al-Salama.
According to a joint Syrian-Jordanian statement, the two sides discussed defense and security cooperation and continuing joint efforts to combat terrorism and the smuggling of drugs and weapons through joint mechanisms between the two countries.
On March 25, Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said relations between Amman and Damascus were in their “best state” at the political, security, military, and economic levels.
Safadi said the meeting with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, which he attended alongside Jordan’s chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and general intelligence director, addressed efforts to combat drug and weapons smuggling across the border, as well as the threat posed by the Islamic State group and terrorism.
Coordination was further strengthened during the second session of the Syrian-Jordanian Higher Coordination Council, held in Amman on April 12 with expanded delegations from both countries.
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said during a press conference with his Jordanian counterpart that regional conditions require raising the level of military and security coordination between the two countries, explaining that this coordination has taken shape through continued meetings between military and security leaders in Damascus and Amman.
Al-Shaibani also pointed to cooperation in confronting drug and weapons smuggling networks, linking stability in southern Syria to the security of both Jordan and Syria.
For his part, Safadi said defense and security coordination between Jordan and Syria had made significant progress as part of efforts to build integrated strategic relations between the two countries, alongside the signing of agreements and memoranda of understanding and the expansion of bilateral cooperation.
The expanded military meeting in Amman came amid the continuation of this process, with coordination moving beyond the bilateral Jordanian-Syrian framework to a meeting that also includes Iraq and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq to discuss border security and confront risks that extend beyond national borders.