Ankara, Damascus expand security, migration cooperation PHOTO

Turkish Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi has met with his Syrian counterpart, Anas Khattab, in Damascus for wide-ranging talks focused on security cooperation, public order and strengthening Syria's institutional capacity.

The meeting, held at Tishreen Palace, centered on expanding cooperation between Türkiye and Syria in areas including security, policing, migration management and emergency response, according to officials, Daily Sabah reports.

Çiftçi and Khattab discussed the potential deployment of electronic traffic monitoring systems, the expansion of vehicle license plate recognition and fingerprint identification technologies, improvements to passport and national identity card production, and cooperation on security equipment.

The ministers also reviewed prospects for collaboration on establishing a 112 emergency call service and ambulance network, enhancing cooperation in combating illicit drug trafficking, and providing training for Syrian police officers.

The Turkish delegation included Ali Çardakçı, Commander of the Turkish Gendarmerie General Command; Ali Fidan, Chief of the Turkish National Police; Muhammed Selami Yazıcı, President of the Presidency of Migration Management; and Ali Hamza Pehlivan, President of Disaster and Emergency Management Authority.

The Syrian delegation included Deputy Interior Minister Abdulqadir Tahan, Deputy Minister for Administrative and Financial Affairs Basim al-Mansour, Deputy Human Resources Minister Hussam Fattouh, Director of the Migration and Passport Department Osman Hilal, and other senior officials.

Following delegation-level talks, the two ministries signed memorandums of understanding aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation.

After meeting with Khattab, Çiftçi was scheduled to hold talks with Syrian Minister of Emergency and Disaster Management Raed al-Saleh before being received by Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa.

The new Syrian leadership has prioritized rebuilding state institutions, restoring essential public services and expanding cooperation with regional and international partners after years of civil war.

Türkiye has emerged as one of the countries most actively engaged with the new authorities in Damascus. Turkish officials have repeatedly stressed that Syria's stability, territorial integrity and reconstruction are essential to regional security and prosperity.

Ankara, which backed the Syrian opposition during the civil war and hosted millions of Syrians displaced by the conflict, has signaled its readiness to support Syria's recovery through institutional cooperation, technical assistance and professional training across multiple sectors.

In recent months, officials from the two countries have held talks on transportation, education, trade, migration, border security, disaster management and public services as part of broader efforts to normalize bilateral cooperation and support Syria's postwar reconstruction.

By Vafa Guliyeva