Syria and Lebanon agreed to activate and strengthen the land transport agreement signed between them in 1993, during a meeting between Syrian Transport Ministers Yarub Badr and Lebanese Fayez Rasmine in Damascus.
Continue to activate the "Agreement on the Regulation of the Transport of Passengers and Goods" signed in 1993, which is the main legal pillar of land transport operations between the two countries.
The two sides also stressed the need to activate the work of the joint committee stipulated in Article 9 of the agreement to ensure the smooth flow of movement and overcome any emergency obstacles.
Developing Memorandums of Understanding and Traffic Safety
During the meeting, the two ministers stressed the utmost importance of the existing memorandums of understanding, which regulate the precise technical and logistical details, including the adoption of the unified traffic book to facilitate the movement of vehicles, the regulation of protocols for the transportation of hazardous materials to ensure environmental and health security, the unification of axial weights and loads to maintain the international road infrastructure and enhance traffic safety standards on the roads connecting the two countries.
Expansion of the Joint Commission
The two sides also discussed the possibility of expanding the powers of the Joint Technical Committee to include representatives of the customs and public security sectors, with the aim of accelerating the pace of work on the crossings.
With regard to the "transfer" file, the Syrian side explained that it represents a temporary exceptional measure imposed by internal social conditions, while the Lebanese side has submitted an official request to exclude goods of Lebanese origin from this principle in order to facilitate the flow of local products to and from the Syrian markets to and from abroad.
The two countries will work to standardize the mechanisms of action at vital land crossings, specifically the slave and factory crossings.
The meeting floated the idea of adopting the "One Stop" system, a one-stop system that aims to integrate border procedures into a single checkpoint, reducing waiting times for passengers and truck drivers, and enhancing the efficiency of intra-regional trade exchange.
Periodic committees to follow up on implementation
At the end of the talks, it was decided to form a permanent joint committee that meets periodically, with the direct task of monitoring and following up on issues related to land crossings and the transport of goods, and ensuring the implementation of what was agreed upon at the Tishreen Palace, in order to serve the common economic and social interests of the Syrian and Lebanese peoples.