Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa will make his first visit to the United Arab Emirates and is also scheduled to visit Turkey next week, the Syrian foreign ministry said in a statement on Sunday, as he continues to garner support for the new administration.
Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, Reuters/Khalil Ashawi
Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa will make his first visit to the United Arab Emirates and is also scheduled to visit Turkey next week, the Syrian foreign ministry said in a statement on Sunday, as he continues to garner support for the new administration.
Sharaa, who previously visited Turkey in February, will make the UAE his second Gulf destination after traveling to Saudi Arabia that same month on his first foreign trip since assuming the presidency in January.
He and other members of the new Syrian leadership have been working to strengthen ties with both Arab and Western leaders following the fall of Bashar al-Assad in a lightning offensive in December, led by Sharaa's Sunni Islamist group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.
Sharaa and his officials have also called for a full lifting of sanctions on Syria.
Syria is in desperate need of sanctions relief to kick start an economy collapsed by nearly 14 years of war, during which the United States, the U.K. and Europe placed tough sanctions on people, businesses and whole sectors of Syria's economy in a bid to squeeze now-ousted leader Assad.
Reporting by Maya Gebeily
The United Arab Emirates posted robust economic growth of 6.2% in 2025, with real GDP reaching 1.9 trillion AED ($517 billion), according to data released Sunday by the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre.
Turkey's ousted opposition leader Ozgur Ozel showed he can still command strong support on Saturday, drawing a crowd of thousands in Ankara despite a court ruling that removed him from office and dealt a blow to President Tayyip Erdogan's challengers.
President Trump understands something most diplomats refuse to acknowledge: the Middle East cannot remain a museum of old hatred.
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