Doha (TDI): Syria’s new foreign minister called on his Qatari counterpart and Qatar’s prime minister in Doha on Sunday, as Syria’s new de facto authorities under Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham establish diplomatic relations with foreign governments.
Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shibani said in a statement on X that he is also set to visit Jordan and the UAE to develop strategic partnerships, and support Syria’s security and economic recovery.
Al-Shibani held a meeting with his Saudi counterpart in Riyadh on Thursday.
He also received the foreign ministers of Germany and France in Damascus on Friday.
HTS led a lightning insurgency that toppled President Bashar Assad’s government on December 8 and ended his family’s decades-long rule.
From 2011 until Assad’s downfall, Syria’s uprising and civil war perished approximately 500,000 people.
Much of the world ended diplomatic ties with Assad because of his crackdown on demonstrators, and sanctioned him and his Russian and Iranian associates.
Now, Syrian authorities hope to reestablish those relations and lift sanctions slapped on HTS and leader Ahmad Al-Sharaa to help make the country’s battered economy viable again.
Assad was supported by Russia, Iran and Lebanese group Hezbollah.
HTS now hopes Syria can strengthen relations with Arab nations in the region.
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“We conveyed to Qatar our concerns about the problems related to the economic sanctions imposed on the Syrian people, and we renew our call on the US to lift those sanctions,” Syrian radio station Sham FM quoted Al-Shibani as stating.
Around 90% of Syrians live below the poverty line, while more than half of the population doesn’t know where their next meal will come from, according to the United Nations.
National Dialogue in Syria
Al-Sharaa has said he will organize a national dialogue summit that includes different groups across the country to agree upon a new political road map leading to a new constitution and an election.
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He pledged to dissolve HTS during the summit and has said in an interview with that the de facto rulers are all of the same political background during this transitional period for the sake of efficiency in running the country.
