Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani met Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune on Thursday evening, 4 June, in the presence of General Intelligence Service chief Hussein Al-Salama.
According to the Syrian Foreign Ministry, the meeting discussed strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries and expanding areas of cooperation, as well as exchanging views on regional and international developments. Also present at the meeting was Brig. Gen. Rachid Fethi Moussaoui, director-general of Documentation and External Security, one of Algeria's intelligence branches.
Speaking after the meeting, Al-Shaibani said, "We stressed the need for relations between our two countries to develop to include key sectors such as energy, the economy, investment and security."
"I conveyed to the president the greetings of President Ahmed al-Sharaa [...] I sensed great appreciation from the Algerian president for the importance of Syria and a willingness to support the path it is currently pursuing," he added.
Earlier in the visit, Al-Shaibani met his Algerian counterpart, Ahmed Attaf, on Thursday and discussed bilateral relations and regional and international developments, particularly in the region.
The two sides agreed to activate bilateral cooperation mechanisms between the two countries, notably the Joint High Commission and the Algerian-Syrian Business Council, and to form sectoral working committees, particularly in the fields of energy, agriculture, mining, transport, and training.
Al-Shaibani also held a meeting with Algerian Minister of Energy and Renewable Energies Mourad Adjal, during which they discussed ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the fields of conventional and renewable energy. He also met Minister of Interior, Local Authorities and Transport Said Sayoud and Minister of Mines and Mining Industries Mourad Hanifi.
Al-Shaibani arrived in Algeria on Wednesday night, 3 June, accompanied by General Intelligence Service chief Hussein Al-Salama, in the first visit by a senior Syrian official since the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime a year and a half ago.
The visit aims to rebuild political and economic relations between the two countries, discuss a number of security issues and matters, and arrange channels for joint security coordination.
The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) said the visit comes within the framework of diplomatic efforts aimed at consolidating Syrian-Algerian relations and strengthening joint coordination on many issues of mutual interest.
The Algerian foreign minister visited Damascus in February 2025 for the first time since the fall of the Assad regime, when he met Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa.
In June 2025, Algeria appointed a new ambassador to Syria, diplomat Abdelkader Kacemi El Hassani, as part of political steps aimed at reorganising relations with Damascus following the overthrow of the Assad regime.
However, the notable aspect of this visit is the presence of Syrian intelligence chief Hassan Salama. Salaama's presence reflects the existence of security-related files between the two countries which require building trust, as well as establishing understandings regarding channels and mechanisms for permanent joint coordination serving the interests of both countries.
Algeria is particularly interested in issues related to combating terrorism and cross-border movements, in addition to the file of Syrians residing in Algeria who arrived during the war in Syria after 2012. Moving beyond the past Syrian lawyer and political activist Adnan Boush, who is based in Algeria, told The New Arab that the presence of the Syrian intelligence chief in Algeria means that "there is a reorganisation and reassessment of the security relationship between Syria and Algeria, addressing some previous and unresolved security issues, reviving military-security training and benefiting from Algerian expertise in the security field, especially as Syria is starting from scratch in rebuilding its security services".
On the political level, Boush said this is Al-Shaibani's first visit to Algeria and reflects a political desire in Damascus to rebuild relations with Algeria based on overcoming all the constraints of the previous phase.
He said that "Algeria and Syria, regardless of what happened in the previous phase, need to rebuild the relationship, close all gaps and resolve all outstanding issues." "It reflects the reality that the new Syrian regime is open to establishing good relations with all Arab states and reorganising its relations based on moving beyond the past in a balanced manner," he added.
The Syrian lawyer further explained that "on the political and diplomatic level, this visit will allow Damascus to appoint a new ambassador to Algeria, as the embassy has had neither an ambassador nor a chargé d'affaires since the fall of Assad.
"It is currently run by an acting charge d'affaires, as well as allowing the rehabilitation of the embassy and diplomatic apparatus, after Algeria had already appointed its ambassador some time ago," he remarked.
For his part, Algerian expert and researcher Mohamed Amine Meghraoui told TNA that "the preliminary and sectoral agreements resulting from the visit and meetings of Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani are, in essence, an explicit declaration that the two countries are moving towards a mature political realism.
"These agreements represent the solid nucleus for re-institutionalising relations and transforming good intentions into political understandings and tangible mutual interests on the ground," Meghraoui said. Security as the key to openness Wael Alwan, a researcher at Jusoor Centre for Studies, told TNA that "the visit comes within the context of redefining strategic relations within the Arab axis, particularly redefining relations with countries that previously maintained ties with Syria in various fields, especially the security and economic sectors".
Alwan added that "the security field between Algeria and Syria previously served as a gateway to economic partnership, and this file may be one of those requiring redefinition and rebuilding amid the political transition that has begun in Syria".
He explained that "redefining security relations with Algeria in particular will open the opportunity for the Syrian government to continue economic partnerships from which Syria benefited in the previous period.
"It needs a relationship that begins correctly and is redefined to ensure the continuation of this opportunity for strategic partnership," Alwan said.
He continued, "This partnership begins with rebuilding the security relationship correctly, then moving from it towards strategic relations at the economic level first, followed by the political, social and developmental levels."
In another context, the visit opens the door to discussions on Algerian-Syrian economic cooperation and understandings regarding arrangements to resume the Algiers-Damascus air route, as well as visa exemptions to encourage trade and tourism.
This comes especially after what appears to be an important step in this regard, as Algeria imported a shipment of sacrificial livestock from Syria during this year's Eid al-Adha as part of economic support and efforts to revive trade exchange between the two countries.
Thirty Algerian companies active in food industries, pharmaceuticals, household equipment, agriculture, electricity, energy and renewable energies, construction, public works and civil engineering participated in the Damascus International Fair last August. Syria is seeking Algerian assistance in oil and gas extraction, marketing and the rehabilitation of oil facilities, as well as in the electricity sector.
Al-Shaibani's visit to Algeria comes less than a month after his official visit to Morocco, which was the first by a senior Syrian official to Rabat since the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime at the end of 2024.
During that visit, the Syrian minister announced the reopening of his country's embassy in the Moroccan capital after more than a decade of political estrangement between the two countries. Article translated from Arabic by Afrah Almatwari. To read the original, click here .