Syrian regime receives credentials of 1st UAE ambassador since 2011

By Anadolu staff

ANKARA (AA) - The Syrian regime on Tuesday received the credentials of the ambassador from United Arab Emirates (UAE), the first such appointment since 2011.

According to the state-run news agency SANA, Syrian Foreign Minister Fayssal Mikdad received a copy of credentials of Hasan Ahmad al-Shahi.

During their meeting, they both discussed their countries' "deep and strong” relations and ways to further boost them.

In 2022, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad visited the UAE, marking his first trip to an Arab state since the civil war, and again in 2023 after a devastating earthquake that killed thousands in Syria.

In December 2018, the Gulf state reopened its embassy in Damascus, after seven years of closure, at the level of charge d'affairs.

In March 2011, popular protests erupted in Syria demanding a peaceful transfer of power, but the Assad regime chose to suppress it militarily, which pushed the country into a devastating civil war.

* Writing by Ahmed Asmar