Iraq and Syria meet discuss ending cross-border drug trade

Iraq and Syria’s foreign ministers met in Baghdad to discuss tackling drug trafficking across their shared border, according to an Iraqi ministry statement. “It’s known that Iraq is a corridor for trafficking and regrettably drug consumption has begun in Iraqi society,” Iraq's Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said during a joint press conference in Baghdad with his Syrian counterpart Faisal Mekdad, Reutersreports. Arab states, including Iraq, recently elected to reinstateSyria's membershipin the Arab League after it had been shunned for 12 years. Arab nations expect President Bashar Al Assad to control Syria’s burgeoning trade in narcotics, which are produced in Syria and trafficked across the region.

Israel and Bahrain set to ink a trade agreement and an investment protection accord to strengthen bilateral ties, Jewish News Syndicate reports. Israeli ambassador to Oman, Eitan Na’eh, believes that Bahrain can play a crucial role in expanding Israel's connections with other Arab countries in the Gulf, JNSreports. The date and venue of the signing have not yet been finalized, but Israeli Economy Minister Nir Barkat is due to visit Bahrain in the coming months. Israel’s Tourism Minister Haim Katz is also scheduled to visit Manama later this month.

ICYMI- Israel signed a landmark trade agreement with the UAE last year that official estimates project will boost trade from USD 1.2 bn to USD 10 bn within the next five years.