Syrian President Bashar al-Assad received UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan today Wednesday 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 said that during the meeting “a number of regional and international issues of common interest were discussed, including developments in the situation in Syria and the Middle East region”.
The agency quoted al-Assad as confirming that relations between Syria and the UAE are historic and that it is natural for them to return to their depths.
He also quoted the Emirati foreign minister as saying that the UAE is keen to enhance cooperation between the two countries and ensure Syria’s stability and its sovereignty over all its lands.
He stressed that the UAE official affirmed during the meeting “the UAE’s commitment and enthusiasm in supporting the efforts made to find a political solution to the Syrian crisis”.
The UAE Foreign Minister’s last visit 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 following the adoption by Bashar al-Assad’s regime of the military option to suppress popular protests that erupted in March of the same year calling for a peaceful transfer of power.
