Sheikh Mohammed stated in a press release on Twitter that the 2 “held constructive talks geared toward growing relations between our two international locations.”
The go to marks a continuation within the ongoing thaw of relations between Syria and different Arab international locations, greater than a decade after the 22-member Arab League suspended Damascus’ membership over Assad’s brutal crackdown on protesters and in a while civilians in the course of the struggle.
Worldwide sympathy following the quake seems to have sped up the regional rapprochement that had been brewing for years. Earlier than the tragedy, the UAE had already reestablished ties with Damascus. Assad’s first go to to the UAE because the 2011 outbreak of the Syrian civil struggle was final yr, adopted by one other go to in January of this yr.
After the earthquake, the UAE’s international minister visited Damascus, and the Gulf nation despatched dozens of help shipments to Syria.
Damascus hopes that the regional reconciliation will unlock long-awaited funds to rebuild the battered nation. Nevertheless, analysts stated it’s unlikely to occur on any giant scale for now.
One key barrier: Syria has not carried out U.N. Safety Council decision 2254 adopted in December 2015 as a highway map to peace in Syria. Acceptance of the highway map is a key demand of the usand the European Union for normalizing relations with Damascus.
The World Financial institution stated Sunday that Syria’s actual gross home product is anticipated to contract by 5.5% in 2023 following the earthquake, with bodily damages estimated at $3.7 billion and financial losses at $1.5 billion, bringing the overall estimated influence to $5.2 billion. That’s on high of the preexisting damages from 12 years of struggle.
“Financial progress could contract additional if reconstruction progress is slower than anticipated, given restricted public sources, weak non-public funding, and restricted humanitarian help reaching the affected areas,” the Financial institution stated in a press release.
