LONDON(RAHNUMA): Syria’s foreign and expatriates minister, Asaad Hassan Al-Shaibani, and the UK’s special representative for Syria, Ann Snow, discussed cooperation between their countries during talks in Damascus on Monday, the Syrian Arab News Agency reported.
“We reflected on how far the bilateral relationship has come since December 2024,” she said in a message posted on social media platform X.
The visit marked her final assignment as British envoy to the country. The Foreign Office has yet to name a successor.
Syrian and British officials have met several times since the fall of President Bashar Assad in December 2024 to discuss a range of topics, including efforts to facilitate the safe return of Syrian refugees from Europe.
The civil war in Syria, which began in 2011 and ended with the toppling of the Assad regime, displaced 12 million people, at least 5 million of whom fled as refugees to neighboring countries. The UK granted asylum to more than 30,000 Syrians between 2011 and 2021.
Ahmad Al-Sharaa, Syria’s president, visited the UK for the first time in March as Damascus attempted to attract investment for the postwar reconstruction of the country. He was the first Syrian head of state to visit London since Assad in 2002.
