The visit comes as Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, Syria’s newly appointed foreign minister, meets with GCC officials in Damascus.
Syria’s new foreign minister, Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, says he has accepted an invitation from his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah to visit, in what would be his first official trip abroad.
“I am honored to represent my country on my first official visit (to Saudi Arabia),” al-Shibani said in a post on X on Monday.
“We look forward to building strategic relations with our brothers in the kingdom in all fields,” he said, describing the visit as a gesture of goodwill and a step towards restoring Syria’s role in the region after the fall of its longtime ruler. Bashar al-Assad. this month.
Al-Shaibani was appointed foreign minister on December 21 by Syria’s interim government, becoming the country’s first senior diplomat since the overthrow of al-Assad.
During a press conference with his Kuwaiti counterpart Abdullah al-Yahya in the capital, Damascus, later on Monday, al-Shaibani said his visit to Saudi Arabia is planned in the “first week of the new year”.
He also called on Kuwait, “with all love and joy” to reopen its embassy in Damascus and resume relations with Syria after the fall of al-Assad.
The visit by Kuwaiti Foreign Minister al-Yahya was the latest by regional leaders and diplomats as they signal an opening to patch up relations following the ouster of al-Assad by rebel forces on December 8.
GCC ‘ready to invest in Syria’
Al-Yahya and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretary General Jasem Mohamed Al-Budaiwi also met Syria’s de facto leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, during their visit. Al-Yahya said they discussed regional developments and cooperation.
Al-Yahya called on the international community to reconsider the sanctions imposed on Syria. He also said that Kuwait’s leadership has called for aid to be sent to Syria urgently.
“The visit expresses our desire to open a new page of regional cooperation … we also appreciate the response of the new administration in Syria to these efforts,” he said.
Sunni Muslim Arab states had boycotted the former Syrian administration after al-Assad accepted help from Shiite and non-Arab Iran and Russia to quell the rebellion against him. In 2013, the Arab League readmitted Syria after more than a decade of suspension.
Earlier on Monday, al-Sharaa met with Ukraine’s foreign minister in Damascus and announced a new strategic partnership.
The visit by Ukraine’s top diplomat came after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday that his country had sent the first batch of food aid, 500 tons of wheat flour, to Syria.
Al Jazeera’s Resul Serdar, reporting from Damascus, said “delegation after delegation” has arrived in Damascus to express support for the new administration.
Al-Yahya and Al-Budaiwi “were making it clear that they are here not only on behalf of Kuwait, but on behalf of all the Gulf countries – saying they are ready to invest in Syria and welcome Syria to the Arab world . “, said Serdar.
The visit is particularly important because “Syria desperately needs investment in its energy sector because it was largely destroyed by 13 years of civil war,” Serdar said.
