Damascus, Sep.7 (SANA) Damascus has witnessed a notable surge in diplomatic activity in recent days, with President Ahmad al-Sharaa receiving the credentials of seven ambassadors to the Syrian Arab Republic during official ceremonies at the People’s Palace in Damascus, attended by Foreign and Expatriates Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani.
The credentials were presented by Saudi Ambassador Ghazi Al-Enezi; the Vatican’s Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Luigi Roberto Cona; European Union Ambassador Michael Ohnmacht; Brazilian Ambassador Eduardo Barbosa; Greek Ambassador Emmanuel Kakavelakis; Swedish Ambassador Jessica Svärdström; and Danish Ambassador Frey Jackson.
The diplomatic activity comes amid rapidly evolving changes in Syria’s foreign relations, most notably the United States’ Aug. 24 decision to remove Syria from its list of State Sponsors of Terrorism, a move that helped create a more open environment for Damascus and broadened prospects for developing relations and expanding areas of cooperation.
In this context, Tarek Ziad Wahbi, a researcher specializing in international relations and European affairs, said the lifting of the designation goes beyond ending Syria’s political isolation. It also reshapes the framework for official engagement with the Syrian state and could pave the way for broader international administrative and financial facilitation, including foreign investment, financing and development assistance programs.
Such measures, he said, could help support the rehabilitation of infrastructure and improve public services.
The U.S. decision coincided with Denmark’s reopening of its embassy in Damascus after a 14-year closure. Al-Shaibani and his Danish counterpart, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, attended the reopening ceremony on Aug. 31.
Al-Shaibani described the reopening as “an important step in Syria’s international repositioning, strengthening its diplomatic presence and opening up to its European partners.”
He said the return of diplomatic missions to Damascus sends “a clear message that Syria is entering a new phase of international relations based on dialogue, cooperation and mutual interests.”
Broad regional engagement
The new political climate has also contributed to resolving domestic military issues, with the Syrian Democratic Forces announcing their dissolution and integration into the Syrian state, a move that received broad regional and international support.
The U.S. decision also removed restrictions that had limited the ability of Arab countries and Türkiye to conclude high-level political understandings with Damascus amid concerns over exposure to secondary sanctions linked to Syria’s terrorism designation.
Wahbi said that as Syria restores its internal balance and its historical position as an influential regional state, it is gradually rebuilding the elements of its national strength through a process involving neighboring countries.
This process, he said, is helping Syria re-establish its regional position on a clear basis: Syrian interests first, followed by shared interests.
A new phase of cooperation
As the scope of political changes brought to the fore by the U.S. decision has widened, international economic indicators have begun to point to a new approach toward engagement with Damascus.
Charles Lister, director of the Syria Program at the Middle East Institute, said rescinding Syria from the State Sponsors of Terrorism list opens the door to serious U.S. and Western economic engagement with the country.
He said U.S. diplomacy would likely seek to support the entry of American companies into the Syrian market, beginning with finance and banking and extending to energy, technology and telecommunications.
Lister said the decision represents both an economic and political turning point, paving the way for deeper U.S.-Syrian cooperation at a time when the threat posed by ISIS persists despite having diminished.
He added that the move could also create opportunities for direct U.S. assistance, facilitate financial transactions and boosting defense cooperation in the coming period.
Mazen
