Syrian President Bashar al-Assad received today, Wednesday, UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, where they discussed relations between the two countries and ways to develop trade and economic relations between them, according to the official Syrian News Agency (SANA).
The agency stated that during the meeting, “a number of regional and international issues of common concern were discussed, including developments in the situation in Syria and the Middle East region.”
The agency quoted al-Assad as confirming that the relations between Syria and the UAE are historical, and that it is natural for them to return to their depth.
It also quoted the Emirati Foreign Minister as saying that the UAE is keen to enhance cooperation between the two countries, and to ensure the stability of Syria and its sovereignty over all its lands.
She pointed out that the UAE official affirmed during the meeting “the UAE’s commitment and keenness to support the efforts made to find a political solution to the Syrian crisis.”
The last visit by the UAE foreign minister to Damascus was in November 2021, followed by a visit by Bashar al-Assad to Abu Dhabi in March 2022, and it was his first to an Arab country since 2011.
In November 2011, the Arab League decided to freeze Syria’s membership as a result of the Bashar al-Assad regime’s adoption of the military option to suppress popular protests that erupted in March of the same year to demand a peaceful transfer of power.