Macron Set to Meet President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus

The Syria presidency has announced that French President Emmanuel Macron is preparing to visit the country with a delegation of investors for talks with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa.

According to the Syrian Presidency’s Media Directorate, the visit is intended to strengthen bilateral relations between Syria and France, while also providing an opportunity to discuss regional and international issues of mutual interest.

If the visit proceeds as planned, it would mark the first visit to Syria by a French president since Nicolas Sarkozy travelled to Damascus in 2009.

Relations between the two countries deteriorated following the 2011 uprising against former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whose government’s crackdown on anti government protests escalated into a prolonged civil conflict that caused widespread destruction and claimed hundreds of thousands of lives.

The proposed visit is being viewed as a potentially significant diplomatic development as Syria continues efforts to rebuild international relationships and encourage foreign investment during its political transition.