ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi on Wednesday donated $10 million from his own pocket to the historic Umayyad and Sayyida Zainab mosques in Syria, among the holiest sites of Sunni and Shiite Islam, as part of his official visit to Damascus.

The donation included $5 million to the Umayyad Mosque and another $5 million to the shrine of Sayyida Zainab, according to Zaidi’s office.

Zaidi headed to Syria on Wednesday on his first official trip to the country, where Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa received him and his delegation at Damascus International Airport upon arrival.

The premier visited the Sayyida Zaynab Mosque, a holy shrine for the Shiite faith, accompanied by Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani. He offered prayers during the visit, according to a statement by his office.

Located just south of the capital, the shrine is believed to house the tomb of Sayyida Zaynab, daughter of Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib and granddaughter of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. It is a major Shiite pilgrimage site and religious center that has been targeted in several attacks over the past decades.

In a similar visit, Zaid also toured the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus accompanied by Shaibani, where he “performed prayers within the mosque’s sanctuary and explored the historical landmarks of this Islamic monument.”

Built between 705 and 715 CE under Umayyad Caliph al-Walid I, the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus is one of the world’s oldest and most revered mosques and a major Syrian national landmark.

During his visit, Zaidi met with Sharaa in the capital, where the two sides discussed bilateral relations, ways to enhance coordination in various fields, and the export of Iraqi oil via the Baniyas pipeline as Baghdad seeks alternative routes to the Strait of Hormuz.