ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The Idlib branch of the Syrian Grain Organization has received 45 trucks of wheat from Iraq as a gift to support the Syrian people, Syrian state media reported on Saturday.

“45 trucks loaded with wheat have arrived and work is underway to empty them into the province’s silos,” SANA reported, citing the director of the Organization’s branch in Idlib province, Diaa al-Ali.

Syrian state media reported in late April that Iraq would disburse a 220,000-ton grant “based on a careful study of each province’s needs” to ensure that wheat is delivered to areas that are most in need.

The Iraqi shipments of wheat to Syria started in late April, with the first batch, consisting of 39 trucks arriving in Deir Ezzor via the al-Qaim border crossing, preceding Saturday’s shipment by eight days.

Baghdad’s present to Damascus comes amid efforts by the two neighbors to form stronger bilateral relations. Iraq was a staunch backer of the former Syrian regime that was overthrown in a rebel offensive by current Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham on December 8.

Iraq late in April officially invited Sharaa to Baghdad, the country’s minister of culture and tourism said on Sunday, to represent his country in “the Arab Summit on the 17th of next month in Baghdad.”

The Syrian government on April 20 announced the arrival of the first cargo of wheat since the ouster of the former regime in Syrian ports, without disclosing the nationality of the ship. Reuters, however, reported that the ship was from Russia, citing a regional commodity trader.