Doha (Brussels Morning Newpaper) – Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani reached Doha on 05 Jan 2025 to meet Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani accompanied by country’s Defence Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra and director of intelligence Anas Khattab, reported Reuters. The Syrian mission was set to hold talks with Sheikh Mohammed, who also functions as Qatar’s foreign minister, and other senior Qatari leaders, including Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Mohammed Al-Khulaifi.
Syrian Foreign and Expatriates Minister Assad Al-Shibani arrives in the Qatari capital,Doha, accompanied by Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra and Head of General Intelligence Anas Khattab on the first official visit to discuss prospects for cooperation between the two countries. pic.twitter.com/wwqkhijUV4
— SANAEnglishOfficial (@SANAEnOfficial) January 5, 2025
Discussions are likely to focus on improving bilateral ties, security cooperation, and the reconstruction of Syria. Al-Shibani called for financial support from Qatar and other Gulf countries as a way to restore stability in Syria.
What role does Asaad al-Shibani play in Syria’s future?
Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, newly appointed Foreign Minister of Syria, was on a visit to Saudi Arabia on 2 January 2025. This trip was important in that it would be the first official foreign visit of the Syrian interim government following the collapse of Assad’s government on 8 December 2024. This visit was mainly for rebooting and strengthening the ties with Saudi Arabia, who severed ties with Assad’s government in 2012 and funded the opposition forces of the Syrian civil war.
Asaad Hassan al-Shibani has been made Foreign Minister of Syria after recent political upheavals in the country. He has been part of the Syrian opposition since 2011, after the civil war began in that country. Highly instrumental in all political movements and one of the founders of the Syrian Salvation Government, al-Shibani holds a crucial place in the structure of the newly formed Syrian cabinet. In this government, he formed the Department of Political Affairs. He was in charge of affairs between the foreign governments and the international bodies.
