Syria is in desperate need of sanctions relief to kick start an economy collapsed by nearly 14 years of war.
Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa will make his first official visit to the United Arab Emirates, followed by a trip to Turkey next week, the Syrian foreign ministry announced on Sunday. The visits are part of his ongoing efforts to strengthen regional support for the new administration. Sharaa, who last visited Turkey in February, will be heading to the UAE as his second stop in the Gulf region.
He and other members of the new Syrian leadership have been working to strengthen ties with both Arab and Western leaders following the fall of Bashar al-Assad in a lightning offensive in December, led by Sharaa's Sunni Islamist group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Reuters reported.
Sharaa and his officials have also called for a full lifting of sanctions on Syria.
Syria is in desperate need of sanctions relief to kick start an economy collapsed by nearly 14 years of war, during which the United States, the U.K. and Europe placed tough sanctions on people, businesses and whole sectors of Syria's economy in a bid to squeeze now-ousted leader Assad.