SYRIA’S TRANSITION:
Transition Meetings:
November 3:
President Ahmed al-Sharaa hosted a meeting with a delegation of Chinese business and industry leaders at the People’s Assembly on November 3. They reportedly discussed proposals for investment in industry, construction and housing.
Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra hosted a meeting with Pakistan’s Military Attache to Iraq and Syria, Colonel Irfan Maqbool Ahmed, on November 3 to discuss proposed joint cooperation. The meeting took place amid speculation around Syria’s desire to join the Mecca Accord, of which Pakistan is a founding member.
Minister of Industry and Internal Trade, Bassel Abdulhanan, hosted a meeting with Saudi Ambassador Ghazi bin Rafeh Al-Anzi on November 3 during which they discussed a proposed memorandum of understanding aimed at developing new industrial cities and zones in Syria.
The Foreign Ministry’s Director of International Cooperation, Qutaiba Qadesh, traveled to Madrid, Spain on November 3 and met with the Director-General for the Middle East and North Africa at Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Carmen Magariños Casal.
Later that day, Qadesh also met with Lucia Prieto Rios, Director of Humanitarian Aid at the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation, and Luisa Garcia, Deputy Director of Cooperation with Africa, the Arab World, and Asia at the Agency, to discuss ways to re-prioritize cooperation and update the agency’s strategy in Syria to align with Syria’s national recovery plan.
The Federation of Syrian Chambers of Commerce and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan held a virtual call on November 3 to discuss the launch of a trilateral partnership involving Syria, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan to support commercial exchange and trade; and progress in establishing an “Uzbek trading center” in Aleppo.
The Deir ez Zour directorate of Social Affairs and Labor convened a workshop on November 4 to discuss conditions faced by those returning from al-Hol Camp and proposals to better coordinate essential services to returnees. The workshop also included officials from the directorates of education, civil affairs, family and population affairs, and the Foreign Ministry’s Department of International Cooperation.
