Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal al-Miqdad arrived in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, yesterday, at the invitation of Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, for talks on bilateral relations between the two countries and issues of common concern. Al-Miqdad’s visit coincided with the announcement by Syria and Tunisia, in a joint statement, that in response to Tunisian President Kais Saied’s initiative to appoint an ambassador for his country in Damascus, Syria decided to reopen its embassy in Tunisia and appoint an ambassador at its head.
In the details, Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Walid bin Abdul Karim Al-Khuraiji received the Syrian Foreign Minister upon his arrival at King Abdulaziz Airport in Jeddah Governorate.
The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs welcomed Al-Miqdad, who is visiting the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as part of an invitation from Faisal bin Farhan, to hold a session of talks dealing with efforts to reach a political solution to the Syrian crisis that preserves Syria’s unity, security and stability, and to facilitate the return of Syrian refugees to their homeland, and to secure the arrival of humanitarian aid to the regions. Affected in Syria, according to the Saudi Press Agency «SPA».
For its part, the Syrian News Agency “SANA” reported that during the visit, talks will be held on bilateral relations between the two countries and issues of common concern.
Al-Miqdad’s visit comes before a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, in which Jordan, Egypt and Iraq will also participate, on Friday in Jeddah, to discuss Syria’s return to the Arab League after its membership was suspended since 2012.
And Riyadh announced last month that it was in talks with Damascus regarding the resumption of consular services between the two countries.
The aim of the invitation, according to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), is to “convene a discussion session dealing with the efforts made to reach a political solution to the Syrian crisis that preserves Syria’s unity, security and stability, and to facilitate the return of Syrian refugees to their homeland, and to secure the arrival of humanitarian aid to the affected areas in Syria.”
Since the devastating earthquake occurred in Syria and neighboring Turkey in February, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has received a torrent of contacts and aid from the leaders of Arab countries, in solidarity that has accelerated the process of resuming his relations with his regional environment.
The Secretary-General of the Arab League, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, said that Saudi Arabia will host the next summit of the Arab League in May, as most countries hope that Syria will return to it.
On the one hand, Syria and Tunisia announced, in a joint statement yesterday, that in response to Tunisian President Kais Saied’s initiative to appoint an ambassador for his country in Damascus, Syria decided to reopen its embassy in Tunisia and appoint an ambassador at its head.
The statement, which was reported by the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), said: “In response to the initiative of the President of the Tunisian Republic, Qais Saeed, to appoint an ambassador to the Syrian Arab Republic, the Syrian government announced its immediate approval of this appointment, and decided to reopen the Syrian embassy in Tunisia, and to appoint an ambassador at its head. in the next few period. The statement added, “In the interest of both sides to restore the Syrian-Tunisian relations to their normal course, consultation and coordination between the foreign ministers of the two countries continues, in order to consecrate the long-standing fraternal ties that unite Syria and Tunisia, and uphold the values of solidarity and synergy between them, and for the good and interest of their two brotherly peoples.”
The joint statement between Damascus and Tunisia came before a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council states, in addition to Jordan, Egypt and Iraq, to be held on Friday in the city of Jeddah, to discuss views on Syria’s return to the Arab League after a break since 2012, according to Agence France-Presse. Tunisia has become the latest Arab country to restore diplomatic relations with Syria after severing relations a decade ago.
On the third of this month, Saeed asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to start procedures for appointing a Tunisian ambassador to Damascus. This came after announcing the restoration of diplomatic relations between the two countries, considering that there is no justification for not exchanging ambassadors between the two countries.
