Current:Home > MarketsThe UAE ambassador takes post in Damascus after nearly 13 years of cut ties-InfoLens
The UAE ambassador takes post in Damascus after nearly 13 years of cut ties
View Date:2024-12-23 14:23:25
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — The first United Arab Emirates ambassador to Damascus in nearly 13 years took up his post on Tuesday as Syria has been reintegrating into mainstream regional acceptance.
Syrian state media said the country’s Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad received Ambassador Hassan Ahmad al-Shihi’s credentials.
The UAE embassy was re-opened in Syria in late 2018 and a charge d’affaires has been in charge of the diplomatic mission since then. Al-Shihi arrived in Damascus on Monday, reported the pro-government daily Al-Watan.
Syrian President Bashar Assad visited the Gulf country in March 2022, the first Arab country to receive him since Syria’s civil war erupted nearly 13 years ago. Following the Feb. 6, 2023 earthquake that killed more than 50,000 in Turkey and about 8,000 in Syria, the UAE sent dozens of planes loaded with aid to Syria.
In May, the 22-member Arab League agreed to reinstate Syria, ending a 12-year suspension and taking another step toward bringing Assad, a long-time regional pariah, back into the fold. Assad, who visited the UAE twice since 2022, took part in the Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia in May.
Al-Shihi’s arrival came as Syria is in the grips of a severe economic crisis, part of it as a result of the conflict that has killed half a million people, displaced millions of others and left large parts of the country destroyed.
The reconciliation between Damascus and oil-rich Arab countries is not likely to lead to a flow of money into the war-torn country because of Western sanctions, which, along with the war and widespread corruption have led to Syria’s severe economic crisis.
The U.S. dollar now is worth 16,000 Syrian pounds. At the start of the conflict in March 2011, the dollar was trading at 47 pounds.
The United Nations estimates that 90% of Syrians in government-held areas live in poverty. More than half the population — some 12 million people — struggle to put food on the table, the U.N. estimates. Things could get worse now that the World Food Program said it will end in January its main assistance program across Syria.
The United Arab Emirates was a supporter of the Syrian opposition, which is now largely confined to the northwestern Idlib province after losing its strongholds elsewhere.
The UAE recalled its ambassador from Syria in 2011 after the start of the popular uprising against Assad. The Syrian Embassy in the UAE remained open.
Last month, Syria’s deputy foreign minister, Ayman Soussan, was named as the country’s new ambassador to Saudi Arabia.
veryGood! (115)
Related
- Eva Longoria calls US 'dystopian' under Trump, has moved with husband and son
- Alaska’s Big Whale Mystery: Where Are the Bowheads?
- DNC to raise billboards in Times Square, across U.S. to highlight abortion rights a year after Roe v. Wade struck down
- WHO ends global health emergency declaration for COVID-19
- Prosecutor failed to show that Musk’s $1M-a-day sweepstakes was an illegal lottery, judge says
- Brittany Snow Hints She Was “Blindsided” by Tyler Stanaland Divorce
- Federal Agency Undermining State Offshore Wind Plans, Backers Say
- Julia Fox Wears Bold Plastic Clown Look at the Cannes Film Festival 2023
- Jax Taylor Breaks Silence on Brittany Cartwright Dating His Friend Amid Their Divorce
- Blake Shelton Gets in One Last Dig at Adam Levine Before Exiting The Voice
Ranking
- Jack Del Rio leaving Wisconsin’s staff after arrest on charge of operating vehicle while intoxicated
- Bama Rush Deep-Dives Into Sorority Culture: Here's Everything We Learned
- Brazil police raid ex-President Bolsonaro's home in COVID vaccine card investigation
- Horrific details emerge after Idaho dad accused of killing 4 neighbors, including 2 teens
- Denzel Washington teases retirement — and a role in 'Black Panther 3'
- Unfamiliar Ground: Bracing for Climate Impacts in the American Midwest
- Back pain shouldn't stop you from cooking at home. Here's how to adapt
- Taxpayers no longer have to fear the IRS knocking on their doors. IRS is ending practice.
Recommendation
-
'Squid Game' creator lost '8 or 9' teeth making Season 1, explains Season 2 twist
-
These states are narrowly defining who is 'female' and 'male' in law
-
The Truth About Tom Sandoval and Influencer Karlee Hale's Relationship
-
See Robert De Niro and Girlfriend Tiffany Chen Double Date With Sting and Wife Trudie Styler
-
Travis Kelce's and Patrick Mahomes' Kansas City Houses Burglarized
-
Bernie Sanders announces Senate investigation into Amazon's dangerous and illegal labor practices
-
The Voice’s Niall Horan Wants to Give This Goodbye Gift to Blake Shelton
-
The COVID public health emergency ends this week. Here's what's changing