Qatari emir to visit Syria on Thursday: Al Jazeera sources

Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani’s visit will be the first by an Arab leader to Damascus since fall of Bashar al-Assad.

Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani will on Thursday be the first Arab leader to visit the Syrian capital Damascus since the December overthrow of former President Bashar al-Assad, sources have told Al Jazeera.

The Syrian presidency confirmed on Wednesday that the country’s transitional leader Ahmed al-Sharaa would meet the Qatari emir on Thursday.

The two countries have strengthened their ties following al-Assad’s fall.

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani previously met al-Sharaa on January 16 in Damascus, and in December Qatar reopened its embassy in the Syrian capital after it was closed in July 2011, soon after the beginning of the Syrian revolution, in which Qatar backed the country’s opposition.

Doha also played host to the new Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani earlier this month.

The Gulf state has focused its efforts in Syria on the humanitarian front, and has continued to send urgent humanitarian aid to Damascus since al-Assad’s fall.

Syrian opposition factions, led by al-Sharaa’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), took control of Damascus on December 8 after a rapid advance across the country that led to the collapse of al-Assad’s regime, after 61 years of Baath party rule and 53 years of rule by a member of the al-Assad family.

Al-Sharaa was named Syria’s transitional president on Wednesday and authorised to form a temporary legislative council until a new constitution is adopted.

It was also announced that armed factions in the country would be dissolved and absorbed into state institutions.

Qatar welcomed the transitional steps, calling them a necessary step to protect “the country’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity”.

Read More

  • Related Posts

    Syria does not need a ‘handshake litmus test’

    Whatever Western media may have you believe, the Syrian leadership’s handshake choices will not determine the country’s future. On January 3, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and French Foreign Minister…

    Syria FM in Saudi Arabia on first foreign visit for new government

    Syria FM in Saudi Arabia on first foreign visit for new government NewsFeed Syria’s top diplomat arrived in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday in the first foreign visit for Syria’s new…

    You Missed

    How Mexico’s decision to send 10,000 troops to the border will work

    How Mexico’s decision to send 10,000 troops to the border will work

    Flights delayed and passengers forced to evacuate after suspect package found at busy London City Airport

    Flights delayed and passengers forced to evacuate after suspect package found at busy London City Airport

    Trump tariffs live updates: President holds crunch talks with political enemy Justin Trudeau

    Trump tariffs live updates: President holds crunch talks with political enemy Justin Trudeau

    Nuclear power worker at Hinkley Point C quizzed on suspicion of being a Russian spy

    Nuclear power worker at Hinkley Point C quizzed on suspicion of being a Russian spy

    Trump throws lifeline to TikTok with creation of new ‘sovereign wealth fund’ that could rescue the app

    Trump throws lifeline to TikTok with creation of new ‘sovereign wealth fund’ that could rescue the app

    Woman, 32, ‘drowns’ after ‘tripping over and getting trapped between rocks’ on Suffolk beach: Tributes to ‘beautiful’ mother who died on seawall boulders as desperate rescuers tried to save her

    • By poster
    • March 16, 2025
    • 1 views
    Woman, 32, ‘drowns’ after ‘tripping over and getting trapped between rocks’ on Suffolk beach: Tributes to ‘beautiful’ mother who died on seawall boulders as desperate rescuers tried to save her