The United Arab Emirates wants to support Syria's reconstruction, the Gulf nation's president said as he met Sunday with Syria's interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, state media said.
At the meeting in Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan "affirmed the UAE's keenness to support... Syria to confront the challenges of the transitional phase and rebuild Syria", the official WAM news agency reported.
Syria's Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, who was with Sharaa on the visit, said after the meetings that "significant achievements have been made today".
In a post on the X platform, Shaibani highlighted "the areas of investment, the resumption of air traffic, and the strengthening of bilateral relations in all sectors."
Sharaa has sought Gulf support for his country since leading a lightning offensive that toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December after more than a decade of civil war.
But days after rebels toppled Assad, UAE presidential adviser Anwar Gargash said the government found the Islamist affiliation of Syria's new rulers "quite worrying".
In January Sharaa spoke by phone with the UAE president about reinforcing ties, Syria's state news agency SANA said at the time.
"Syria's stability and enhanced security are in the interest of the entire region," the UAE president was quoted as saying on Sunday.
He added that the Gulf country would "spare no effort in providing all possible support to Syria and its brotherly people in the coming period".
Analysts have said the UAE is suspicious of Syria's new leaders, reflecting its distrust of political Islam and concerns over Turkish influence in the war-scarred country.
With AFP
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