UAE Foreign Minister Meets Syrian President in further sign of warming ties

Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed first visited Syria in November 2021, paving the way for Assad’s historic trip to the UAE in March 2022. The UAE affirmed its support for a political solution to the Syrian crisis that restores Syrian sovereignty. In recent years, many Arab countries, most prominently the UAE, have resumed ties with Damascus. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has restored control over two-thirds of the country, but the conflict has come at a great cost. In addition to half a million people being killed by fighting, half of Syria’s pre-war population is internally displaced or are refugees. The country’s reconstruction costs are estimated to be tens of billions of dollars, but its economy is on the verge of collapse.