Damascus, Sept. 2 (SANA) Syrian and European Union officials discussed efforts to establish a national framework for the voluntary return of Syrian refugees during a workshop held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates in Damascus on Wednesday.
The workshop, organized by the ministry’s International Cooperation Department, brought together a European Union delegation headed by Henrike Trautmann, the European Commission’s Middle East Director, to discuss the situation of Syrian refugees abroad, their return to Syria and related regional programs.
The meeting was attended by Nahla Othman, director of Expatriates and Refugees Affairs at the Foreign Ministry, and Bahjat Hajjar, a representative of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor.
Creating conditions for refugee returns
Abdul Karim Aqziz, director of European Relations at the Foreign Ministry’s International Cooperation Department, told SANA that the workshop was part of efforts to develop a national framework for the return of refugees.
Aqziz said Syria and the EU shared common ground on several issues, including prioritizing internally displaced people, particularly those living in camps, before addressing Syrians displaced to neighboring countries and Europe.
The two sides agreed that returns should be voluntary, safe and dignified, he said.
Aqziz added that investment in infrastructure, basic services and livelihoods was essential to creating the conditions for sustainable returns and ensuring that the process formed part of Syria’s broader recovery.
According to an annual report by the UN refugee agency cited by Reuters in June, around 1.3 million Syrians returned home in 2025, helping reduce the number of Syrian refugees worldwide to 4.9 million by the end of the year, from about 6 million in 2024.
The UNHCR said Syria recorded one of the largest return movements globally in 2025, with the number of returnees nearly tripling compared with 2024 following the fall of the deposed regime in December 2024.
MZN
