New Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani will visit Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan as a follow-up to his historic recent visit to Saudi Arabia. His move is a significant turn in foreign relations for Syria as its new government tries to reach out for closer ties with regional powers.
Speaking through social media, al-Shaibani outlined his vision for the upcoming visits, saying they would focus on “supporting stability, security, economic recovery and building distinguished partnerships.” This comes at a very delicate point in history as Syria’s new administration seeks to rebuild the nation’s ties with others diplomatically and economically across the Middle East.
The recent high-profile visit of the foreign minister to Riyadh, where he was accompanied by the new Minister of Defense and the chief of intelligence, already created a positive atmosphere for these efforts of diplomacy. Such a warm welcome in Saudi Arabia would be indicative of readiness by the Gulf states to engage with the new leadership in Syria, not to mention substantial players in the process of reconstruction in this country.
The first step in that solid step towards possible broadening cooperation is a concrete gesture to respond to the immediate humanitarian needs of Syria while laying the foundation for broader cooperation on the new Syrian initiative toward regional engagement as it comes on the heels of enormous challenges facing the country in rebuilding its destroyed infrastructure and reviving its economy after years of bloody conflict. There is not much more important investment than that of the wealthy Gulf states in rebuilding for the new administration, which has Saudi Arabia as a potential key partner in these efforts.
“Such diplomatic activity is more than usual state visits,” says Dr. Sarah Mahmoud, Middle East policy analyst at the Regional Studies Center in Beirut. “They are indicative of Syria’s plans to reintegrate into the Arab world and eventually access the financial resources that will be needed for reconstruction. The Gulf states, with their incalculably vast financial resources, could really make great changes in regard to Syria’s recovery.”
The next mandated diplomatic tour is a well-planned diplomatic maneuver aimed particularly at some major players within the community. Each of them has niches of qualitative importance to the reconstruction process – Qatar has financial capabilities, UAE has in infrastructure experience, and Jordan is a neighbor state.
While Syria attempts to restore its foreign policy and internal facilities and capacities, these moves towards diplomatic relations with the gulf Cooperation Council countries and other neighboring countries could be the emergences of a new phase of cooperation in the area. The success or failure of these visits could not only set the speed of the Syria reconstruction process, but possibly influence the map for future regional arrangements in the Middle East.
These coming weeks will be significant as al-Shaibani performs these diplomatic assignments; observers in the region will keenly observe these steps towards cooperation to tell the regional brethren whether these steps of cooperation may lead to some kind of regional support for Syria’s ambitious reconstruction agenda.
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