Abu Dhabi: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has appointed its ambassador to Damascus for the first time since the outbreak of war in Syria in 2011, the Syrian News Agency (SANA) reported.
On Tuesday, January 30, the new UAE ambassador, Hasan Ahmad Al-Shahi, presented a copy of his credentials to Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Al-Miqdad at the ministry’s headquarters.
During a meeting, both sides emphasized the strong and deep relations between Syria and the UAE, urging for their mutual benefit.
UAE ambassador expressed his commitment to enhancing bilateral ties to meet the aspirations of both leaderships and the people.
Al-Shahi has been the UAE’s ambassador to Iraq since 2015, having previously served as ambassador to Sudan.
The UAE reopened its embassy in Damascus in late 2018, and the Charge d’Affaires has been in charge of the diplomatic mission since then.
In recent years, Syria resumed diplomatic relations with the Arab region after several countries recalled ambassadors and closed embassy headquarters following President Bashar al-Assad’s 2011 crackdown on protests.
In 2011, Syrian protests demanded power transfer, but the regime militarily suppressed them, leading to a devastating civil war.
