Cairo, Sept. 7 (SANA) Foreign and Expatriates Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani said Monday that Syria has regained its natural place among its Arab partners as a “shoulder and support, not a burden,” as the country moves beyond 15 years of hardship into a comprehensive phase of rebuilding its economy and state institutions.
Addressing Arab foreign ministers during the 166th ministerial session of the Arab League in Cairo, al-Shaibani said the meeting came at a moment requiring Arab states to close ranks and unify their positions.
“We meet today under the shared umbrella of Arab unity at a moment that requires us to close ranks and unify our visions,” he said.
Justice, unity and state authority
Al-Shaibani said Syria is addressing societal wounds that he said were systematically inflicted by the deposed regime through justice and openness.
He said implementation of the three-part roadmap for establishing peace in Sweida is moving forward steadily to ensure the province’s dignified integration into the national fabric and guarantee its people full rights and responsibilities of citizenship, stressing that Syria would firmly confront attempts to undermine the process.
The minister said the exclusive possession of arms and the authority to use deterrence are sovereign rights of the state, aimed at protecting Syrians within a unified country that chooses dialogue as the path toward the return of displaced people and reconstruction.
Despite the challenges, al-Shaibani said Syrians had achieved major transformations over the past 20 months, moving the country from crisis management toward reconstruction after 15 years of destruction and five decades of what he described as authoritarian rule and systematic damage.
UnderPresident Ahmad al-Sharaa, he said, Syrians had laid the foundations for a new era based on justice and sovereignty. Prisons had been emptied and the ousted regime’s security apparatus dismantled, while armed factions were integrated and the national army rebuilt on the principle that weapons should remain exclusively under state authority.
Thousands of people implicated in war crimes have been brought before justice, he said, while independent human rights organizations have been allowed to operate openly.
Al-Shaibani also said Syria had overcome partition projects and attempts to separate parts of its territory, pointing to developments in the northeast. He said the Syrian Jazira had been reintegrated through a peaceful understanding that restored state institutions to the region and guaranteed the legitimate rights of Syrian Kurds, reinforcing their place as an essential component of the country’s shared national identity.
Rebuilding institutions and economy
Al-Shaibani said the developments demonstrated Syrians’ ability to address their wounds and turn cultural diversity into a source of strength that safeguards the country’s unity and independence.
He said Syria’s internal recovery was based on rebuilding state institutions, beginning with parliament, where Syrians elected what he described as the first People’s Assembly of modern Syria, reflecting the country’s diversity.
National security and defense institutions have also been restructured to focus on protecting Syria’s borders and sovereignty, he said, establishing a military doctrine aimed at ending the proliferation of arms and centralizing deterrence under state authority.
Education and higher education have been placed among the government’s highest priorities, with hundreds of thousands of children and young people returning from camps to schools and universities as educational institutions undergo restoration, according to al-Shaibani.
He said those efforts were accompanied by an economic program centered on citizens’ dignity, including addressing shortages of essential goods, doubling wages and restarting national production.
Diplomatic gains and return of displaced Syrians
Al-Shaibani said Syria had seen the results of its domestic recovery internationally through the repeal of the Caesar Act, the lifting of U.S. and European sanctions and Syria’s removal from the U.S. list of State Sponsors of Terrorism after 47 years.
He said Syria had gone from having five functioning embassies in Damascus on the eve of liberation to maintaining relations with more than 100 countries and international organizations.
The minister described the return of displaced Syrians as one of the most significant achievements, saying 3.7 million refugees and internally displaced people had returned to their cities and villages, while the number of people living in camps had fallen to a quarter of its previous level.
Syria expects to reach its goal of eliminating displacement camps by the end of next year, he added.
Al-Shaibani also said international financial organizations forecast economic growth exceeding 10% over the next two years. He thanked Arab and other friendly countries that supported Syria’s efforts to break the sanctions imposed on it and opened their doors to Syrians during the years of the revolution.
Syria’s renewed Arab role
Al-Shaibani said Syria’s geographic position and historical role mean its recovery extends beyond its borders, arguing that the country’s achievements today can benefit both Syria and its Arab partners.
Damascus has become an active partner in safeguarding regional peace and combating terrorism and transnational crime, he said, while seeking to strengthen regional connectivity through trade corridors, secure energy flows and turn borders into channels for development.
He called for Syria to be immediately included in Arab organizations’ and funds’ programs for 2027 and invited Arab partners to support an upcoming Arab Industries Exhibition in Damascus as a platform for economic cooperation.
Al-Shaibani said Syria had returned as a “shoulder and support” at the heart of Arab national security, pointing to Damascus’ declared solidarity with Gulf states and Jordan since the outbreak of the U.S.-Israeli-Iranian war.
He said Syria rejects the use of Arab territory to settle other countries’ disputes or its own territory as a platform for attacks, while supporting dialogue and closer security and economic cooperation, particularly with neighboring Arab states.
U.S.-mediated talks over Israeli attacks
Turning to the occupied Syrian Golan, al-Shaibani said Colombia had recently recognized its annexation and thanked Arab states for condemning the move.
He proposed assigning the Arab Group in New York to include a condemnation in a resolution of the 81st session of the U.N. General Assembly and formally informing Bogotá that Arab rights are inalienable.
Al-Shaibani said the political developments coincided with an Israeli escalation that he said was aimed at imposing new zones of influence and disrupting Syria’s recovery.
Syria, he said, refuses to be drawn into a conflict that would divert its efforts from rebuilding and remains committed to pursuing a diplomatic solution.
“We are engaged in U.S.-mediated negotiations aimed at ending the attacks, arrests and incursions, securing a withdrawal to the lines preceding Dec. 8, 2024, and restoring full compliance with the 1974 Disengagement Agreement,” al-Shaibani said.
He stressed that the diplomatic track must safeguard Syria’s sovereignty over the occupied Golan and its sovereign right to build its national army, thanking the Arab League for its support for Syrian sovereignty over the territory.
Al-Shaibani concluded by saying the coming years would see the emergence of a historic Syrian success story, with Syria returning to its place as a “shoulder and support, not a burden.”
T.S /M.F
