Foreign Ministry: the activities of the regular meeting of Syrian ambassadors and heads of diplomatic missions continued

Damascus, SANA- Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ministry followed up on Wednesday the proceedings of the regular meeting of Syrian ambassadors and heads of diplomatic missions on its 4th day at the ministry’s headquarters.

Foreign and Expatriates Minister in the caretaker government Dr. Fayssal Mikdad stressed the need for embassies and diplomatic missions to contain the Syrian cultural heritage, which is a global one.

In turn, Minister of Culture in the caretaker government, Dr. Lubana Mashouh, spoke during a meeting with ambassadors and heads of Syrian diplomatic missions about the ministry’s  mission, vision and goals in creating thought, strengthening national identity, disseminating knowledge, developing capacities and skills as well as protecting and preserving cultural heritage and developing the cultural product.

She pointed out that the difficulties and obstacles facing the Ministry’s work, especially after the terrorist war waged on Syria, which was the reason for the loss, theft and smuggling of thousands of antiquities, presenting some solutions and suggestions that could help in recovering smuggled antiquities.

She added that the necessity for the efforts made in the field of recovering smuggled antiquities to receive the support of diplomatic missions, noting that cooperation between the Ministries of Culture and Foreign Affairs will result in a number of proposals and solutions that must be adopted to develop cultural work.

The most important proposals are to activate cultural diplomacy and conclude bilateral agreements with neighboring countries, in addition to the importance of paying great attention to documentation and cooperating with archaeological experts between countries.

In a statement to reporters, the Minister of Local Administration and Environment in the caretaker government and head of the Supreme Relief Committee, Eng. Lamia Shakur, indicated after meeting with ambassadors and heads of missions that the meeting addressed the importance of international cooperation in the field of relief and humanitarian work in Syria.

She added that the meeting discussed the nature of the coordination mechanisms for humanitarian aid received by the targeted groups of Syrians and the neediest regions and sectors, and keeping pace with allied and friendly countries at this stage since Syria was subjected to the terrorist war on it.

In another statement, the minister of industry in the government of conducting business, Dr. Abdulkader gokhdar, stressed that the meeting was vital and interactive and touched upon the most important challenges faced by Syria in the economic field, especially industrial, in addition to a realistic analysis of the effects of unilateral sanctions on the industry, discussing the priorities needed by the Ministry of industry, presenting some attractive projects for investment and the possibility of cooperation with commercial offices in the countries where our diplomatic missions are present.

In continuation of the meeting, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Habib Abbas chaired a session entitled “Syrian Communities Abroad and Activating Expatriate Work.”

The participants discussed consular and expatriate affairs and proposals to develop the expatriate work system, pointing to the important role played by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates and diplomatic missions in caring for Syrian communities spread around the world.

In a statement following the session, the Syrian Ambassador to the Sultanate of Oman, Dr. Idris Mia, explained that the goals that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs seeks to achieve through this meeting are to search for solutions to the problems facing Syrian expatriates spread around the world.

In a statement to SANA, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Bassam Sabbagh, explained that the regular meeting of ambassadors and heads of missions comes within the framework of implementing comprehensive institutional reform at the national level, which includes developing work mechanisms in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and improving and strengthening means of communication between the central administration and foreign missions.

Nisreen Othman / Manar Salameh