Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad visited the United Arab Emirates on his first trip since 2011

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad met this Friday with Emirati Prime Minister Mohamed bin Rashid al Maktum during a surprise visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the first he has made to an Arab country since the outbreak of the conflict in Syria in 2011.

Al Maktum received Al Asad and his accompanying delegation at one of his residences in Dubai, the demarcation of which he is emir, a meeting that “took place within the framework of fraternal relations between the two countries,” the Syrian Presidency said in a statement.

Both leaders spoke of “cooperation and coordination between the two fraternal countries” with a view to “contributing to security, stability and peace in the Arab world and the Middle East,” the same source added.

The meeting was also attended by several senior officials from the Emirates, a country that cut relations with Damascus between 2012 and 2018 for its action in the armed conflict, and the talks focused on bilateral cooperation in economic, trade and investment, according to the note.

The official Emirati news agency WAM confirmed the Syrian president's visit to the country, adding that the leader also met with the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who de facto rules the emirate and is considered the strongman of the UAE.

Since Al Assad was re-elected at the polls last May, the Emirates has taken some steps to strengthen its ties with Syria, including a trip to the nation by Emirati Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan, who had last been on its territory in May 2011.

In recent months, other countries in the region have made small gestures towards a normalization of relations with Damascus.

Last October, King Abdullah II of Jordan spoke with Al Assad to coincide with the reopening of a major border crossing between the kingdom and southern Syria, while in mid-2021 alleged negotiations took place with Saudi Arabia to re-establish its embassy in Damascus.

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the US government has also offered and multiplied its efforts to mediate between the parties, including even trips to Moscow by its foreign minister.

Syria is one of the countries most firmly aligned with Russia, whose role was key to holding Al Assad in power after the outbreak of civil war in that country in 2011.

The Arab League expelled Syria in late 2011, when Arab countries, including those in the Gulf, rejected the repression of pro-democracy demonstrations by Damascus forces.

In February 2012, the Emirates and five other Gulf Cooperation Council countries announced the withdrawal of their ambassadors from Syria, denouncing the “collective massacre” committed by the Syrian authorities.

With information from EFE and AFP

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