Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa is slated to travel to the United Arab Emirates, marking his first official visit to the country since taking office in January, the Syrian Foreign Ministry announced Sunday, according to Reuters.
The trip will be followed by a visit to Turkey next week.
The planned visits are part of a broader campaign by Syria’s new leadership to build regional and international alliances following the ouster of longtime ruler Bashar Al-Assad. President Sharaa previously traveled to Saudi Arabia and Turkey in February, making the UAE his second destination in the Gulf.
Sharaa ascended to power after Assad’s regime fell in a swift military offensive led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a Sunni Islamist group to which Sharaa belongs. Since then, the new administration has sought to re-engage with Arab neighbors and Western powers alike.
In recent statements, Syrian officials have urged the international community to end sanctions imposed during Assad’s rule. “Syria is in desperate need of sanctions relief,” one official said, pointing to the severe toll that more than a decade of civil war has taken on the economy.
HTS traces its origins to Al-Qaeda’s Syrian branch and remains classified as a terrorist organization by multiple countries, including the United States, though the US lifted the bounty on Sharaa’s head soon after he was named Syria’s leader.
Western sanctions, primarily from the United States, the United Kingdom, and European Union, have targeted sectors ranging from finance to energy, with the intent of pressuring the Assad government. The new leadership argues that lifting these restrictions is critical to rebuilding the nation’s shattered economy.
Although some sanctions have been temporarily suspended, the impact has been limited. In January, the US issued a six-month general license to facilitate humanitarian aid, but this measure was insufficient to allow Qatar to pay for public sector salaries through Syria’s central bank.
Syrian officials, including Sharaa and Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani, have called for the full lifting of sanctions, arguing that it is unjust to maintain them after Assad’s ousting.
Late last month it was reported that the United States has presented Syria with a set of conditions for partial sanctions relief, including a demand that foreigners not occupy senior governing roles.