Syria's Shibani expected at Brussels donor summit

Syria's foreign minister Asaad al-Shibani is set to attend a donor summit for his country in Brussels on March 17, a European official told Reuters on Wednesday, the first time Syria will be formally represented at the yearly conference.

The official said that Syria's interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa was not expected to be at the donor meeting, after a Syrian source and two diplomats had told Reuters he was expected there.

The yearly conference, hosted by the European Union, aims to "mobilise international support for an inclusive, peaceful transition" and will be the first time it is held following the ouster of Bashar al-Assad from power in December.

In the past, representatives of Syrian civil society were invited to take part in the summit - but the Syrian state was not.