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UAE Ambassador to Syria Takes Post in Damascus

President Bashar al-Assad welcoming Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Damascus, November 2021. (Syrian Presidency)
President Bashar al-Assad welcoming Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Damascus, November 2021. (Syrian Presidency)
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UAE Ambassador to Syria Takes Post in Damascus

President Bashar al-Assad welcoming Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Damascus, November 2021. (Syrian Presidency)
President Bashar al-Assad welcoming Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Damascus, November 2021. (Syrian Presidency)

The first United Arab Emirates ambassador to Damascus in nearly 13 years took up his post on Tuesday.

Syrian state media said the country’s Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad received Ambassador Hassan Ahmad al-Shihi’s credentials.

The UAE embassy was reopened in Syria in late 2018 and a charge d’affaires has been in charge of the diplomatic mission since then.

Al-Shihi will be the first UAE ambassador to Syria since 2011.

Al-Shihi served as the UAE's ambassador to Iraq since 2015 and held a previous post as the ambassador to Sudan.

The reopening of the UAE embassy in Syria in December 2018 ended seven years of strained relations following the Arab League's decision to suspend Syria's membership and severe ties with the country.

The UAE is the first Arab country to restore ties with Damascus. In November 2021, Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed visited Damascus and met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

In March 2023, al-Assad arrived in the UAE for an official visit, accompanied by his wife. Assad held talks with President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, during which they discussed on bilateral ties.

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Saudi-Iraqi Cooperation Thwarts Drug Smuggling Operation

The drug shipment was intercepted with the assistance of "important information" provided by Saudi's drug enforcement agency. SPA
The drug shipment was intercepted with the assistance of "important information" provided by Saudi's drug enforcement agency. SPA
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Saudi-Iraqi Cooperation Thwarts Drug Smuggling Operation

The drug shipment was intercepted with the assistance of "important information" provided by Saudi's drug enforcement agency. SPA
The drug shipment was intercepted with the assistance of "important information" provided by Saudi's drug enforcement agency. SPA

Iraq's security forces have seized an estimated 1.1 ton of captagon pills hidden inside a truck that entered Iraq from Syria via Türkiye, the Interior Ministry said on Sunday.

The drug shipment, the largest ever seized in Iraq, was tracked and intercepted with the assistance of "important information" provided by Saudi's drug enforcement agency, the Interior Ministry spokesperson Brigadier Muqdad Meri said in a televised statement.

Saudi Arabia said it contributed to thwarting an attempt to smuggle seven million amphetamine pills into Iraq, according to a statement by ministry security spokesman Colonel Talal bin Abdul Mohsen bin Shalhoub.
Through proactive security monitoring of criminal networks involved in drug trafficking, the General Directorate of Narcotics Control provided intelligence to its Iraqi counterpart, leading to the interception of the illicit shipment. The drugs were concealed within a consignment of children's toys and ironing boards.
Shalhoub praised the close cooperation between Saudi and Iraqi authorities in combating drug smuggling.

He reiterated the Kingdom’s commitment to tracking and dismantling criminal operations involved in narcotics production and trafficking, in collaboration with counterpart agencies in brotherly and friendly countries.