Introduction: The Fraternity, Cooperation and Coordination Treaty has been brought forward to express the nature of the distinguished Lebanese-Syrian relationships, in addition to the historical, fateful and fraternal ties which were embodied in a structural, economical, cultural and political life cycle throughout the ages on one hand, and to interpret legitimately and practically what the Lebanese National Pact - signed in Altaef on 22/10/1989 and ratified by the Parliamentary Council on 5/11/1989 - has stated, on the other hand. That pact has determined the following:
"Lebanon, the Arabic state in belonging and identity, has true fraternal ties with all the Arab states..."
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Fraternity, Cooperation and Coordination Treaty:
Based on what was mentioned above, a Treaty has been signed on May 22, 1991. That Treaty has formed a peculiar leap in the two states' relationships process during the current historical stage. Within the framework of this Treaty, many objectives have been determined. To accomplish those objectives, several joint organisms have been established on the authority of this Treaty to watch over the implementation of its provisions and agreements that might be issued. These joint organisms are:
1. The Syrian Lebanese Higher Council
The Higher Council shall be formed from:
- The presidents of both contracting countries.
- The speaker of the Peoples' Assembly, the Prime Minister and the Vice Prime Minister of the Syrian Arab Republic.
- The Parliament Speaker, the Prime Minister and the Vice Prime Minister of the Republic of Lebanon.
The Higher Council shall set up the general policy of coordination and cooperation between the two states in all fields (political, economical, social and many other fields), and shall supervise its implementation and adopt the plans and decisions taken by “the Follow-Up and Coordination Commission", “the Foreign Affairs Committee", “the Committee for Economic and Social Affairs”, “the Committee for Defense and Security Affairs” or any committee established subsequently. The decisions of the Higher Council shall be binding and effective within the framework of the constitutional regulations of the two states. Furthermore, the Higher Council determines the matters in which the concerned committees have the right to take decisions that shall become enforceable once issued in accordance with the constitutional regulations and procedures in both countries, or in a way that is not incompatible with these regulations and procedures.
The Higher Council shall meet once a year and when necessary in a venue to be agreed on.
2. The Follow-up and Coordination Commission
The Follow-up and Coordination Commission shall be formed of the prime ministers of both countries and a number of ministers concerned with the bilateral relations of the two countries.
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3. The joint committees formed under the Treaty - The Foreign Affairs Committee
- The Committee for Economic and Social Affairs
- The Committee for Defense and Security Affairs
In addition, under the provisions of the Treaty and the agreements emanating from it, joint ministerial committees have been formed including all other sectors. And all these committees shall be formed from the concerned ministers in the two countries.
4. The General Secretariat
A General Secretariat chaired by a Secretary-General, has been created to follow up the implementation of the "Fraternity, Cooperation and Coordination Treaty", and by the resolution number (1) dated 16/8/1993, Mr. Nassri Alkhoury was appointed as the Secretary-General of the Higher Council before which he shall be responsible for the General Secretariat's bodies proper execution of their determined tasks. The General Secretariat headquarters, competences, staff and budget have all determined by another decision of the Higher Council issued in Damascus on 21/12/1993. The General-Secretariat rules of procedure together with its financial system have been ratified up to the over mentioned decision along with their amendments by resolution number (27) signed in Damascus on 7/3/2005. The General secretariats' rules of procedure and financial system are concisely as follows:
The General Secretariat shall be formed from the administrative and the technical cadre chaired by a Secretary-General and shall be specialized in following up the implementation of the provisions of the Treaty. The aforementioned cadre shall include a group of specialists, experts, executives and a technical staff.
The General Secretariat takes Damascus as a headquarter.
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The joint ministerial committees, subcommittees, and competent technical committees
In addition to the joint ministerial committees that have been formed according to the Treaty and the other committees formed in accordance to the agreements stemmed, other competent technical committees and subcommittees have been created to include almost all of the sectors:
Electricity, oil, natural gas, communication, postage, industry, economics, transportation, public works, agriculture, water, education, vocational and technical education, higher education, culture, youth and sport, social affairs, social security, labor, health, tourism, environment, development and administrative reform, information, justice, common frontiers points, customs, housing and cooperatives, the National Council for Scientific Researches and the Higher Council of Sciences, the National Council for Scientific Researches and the General Board of Remote Sensing, the National Council for Scientific Researches and the Water Researches Center, the National Council for Scientific Researches and the General Establishment of Geology and Mineral resources, the National Council for Scientific Researches and the Syrian Center of Studies and Scientific Researches, The National Council for Scientific Researches and the Atomic Energy Commission, the National Council for Scientific Researches and the National Information Center, cooperation in the field of industrial researches, cooperation in the information field.
Syrian Lebanese Higher Council What do you think of the Syrian Lebanese Higher Council, has it been beneficial to Lebanon and what should be the future steps?
Cheers
The Syrian Lebanese Higher Council -
25th July 2008
