Syria, Qatar discuss reconstruction during emir’s visit to Damascus

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said discussions with a Qatari delegation in Damascus Thursday included reconstruction in the war-torn country, during the first visit by a head of state since Bashar al-Assad’s ouster.

The trip by Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, less than two months after opposition forces ousted al-Assad, comes a day after Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa was appointed interim president for an unspecified transitional period. It also follows a visit by Qatar’s prime minister earlier this month.

“We discussed a comprehensive framework for bilateral cooperation concerning reconstruction” in the country devastated by nearly 14 years of civil war, al-Shaibani said during a press conference with Qatari Minister of State at the foreign ministry, Mohammed al-Khulaifi.

He said their talks covered “vital sectors including infrastructure... investment and banking services, paving the way for economic recovery, health and education.”

Al-Khulaifi welcomed Wednesday’s announcement by Syria’s authorities “on the end of the revolutionary phase and the transition to the phase of establishing the state.”

Doha will continue “to provide the required support on all humanitarian and service levels, and also regarding infrastructure and electricity,” he told the press conference.

Qatar did not restore diplomatic ties with Syria under al-Assad and was one of the first to back the armed rebellion that erupted after his government crushed a peaceful uprising in 2011.

Syria’s new authorities on Wednesday said al-Sharaa had been tasked with forming a transitional legislature, and they also announced the dissolution of all armed groups involved in al-Assad’s overthrow, as well as the former government’s army.

Al-Sharaa’s group led the offensive that ousted al-Assad on December 8.

‘Historic visit’

Qatar’s emir arrived Thursday on “an official visit to Damascus” where he was welcomed by al-Sharaa, a statement from the Qatari court said.

The Syrian embassy in Doha had said that Sheikh Tamim would meet al-Sharaa “in a historic visit” that would address “cooperation and aid in several sectors.”

Qatar was the second country, after Turkey, to reopen its embassy in the Syrian capital following al-Assad’s overthrow, and has urged the lifting of sanctions.

During a visit earlier this month, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani also pledged to support the rehabilitation of Syria’s infrastructure.

He said the agreement included providing Syria with 200 megawatts of power and gradually increasing production.

A diplomatic source has also said Qatar was weighing plans to assist Syria with public sector salaries.

Also this month, ministers from Syria’s transitional government including al-Shaibani met the Qatari premier on their first visit to the Gulf country since taking power.

On December 23, al-Khulaifi led the first high-level Qatari delegation to Damascus after a 13-year diplomatic rift.

Qatar’s ruler is the most senior of a string of foreign officials to visit Damascus since December.