Jakarta, hitclubapk3 Indonesia
—
President
Syria
Ahmed al-Sharaa arrived at
United States
on Saturday (8/11) to pay a historic official visit, according to a report by the official Syrian news agency, SANA.This visit came a day after Washington withdrew his name from the terrorist blacklist.
Sharaa, the new leader whose forces overthrew the old regime of Bashar al-Assad at the end of last year is scheduled to meet with United States President Donald Trump at the White House next Monday.
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT
According to analysts, this is the first visit by a Syrian president to the United States since the country gained independence in 1946. Previously, Sharaa met Trump for the first time in Riyadh during the US president’s regional visit last May.
The US envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, said earlier this month that Sharaa was expected to sign an agreement to join the US-led international alliance against the Islamic State group (ISIS).
Diplomatic sources in Damascus said the US was also planning to set up a military base near the Syrian capital to coordinate humanitarian aid and monitor the situation on the Syrian-Israeli border.
The US State Department’s decision on Friday (7/11) to remove Sharaa’s name from the terrorist list was actually widely expected.
US State Department spokesman, Tommy Pigott, explained that the move was a recognition of the progress shown by the new Syrian government, especially in efforts to find missing Americans and eliminate the remains of chemical weapons on its territory.
“This action was taken in recognition of the significant changes demonstrated by the Syrian leadership following the end of more than 50 years of oppression under the Assad regime,” Pigott quoted him as saying.
AFP
.
He added that it was hoped that the lifting of sanctions would support regional security and stability, as well as strengthen an inclusive political process led directly by the Syrian people.
Operations against ISIS
Domestically, Syria’s Interior Ministry announced it had carried out 61 raids and detained 71 people in an operation to crack down on ISIS sleeper cells.
The operation took place in a number of areas including Aleppo, Idlib, Hama, Homs, Deir ez-Zor, Raqqa and Damascus.
The move is said to be part of a “proactive campaign to neutralize the terror threat” in a country still struggling to recover from more than a decade of civil war.
Sharaa’s visit to Washington follows on from her diplomatic moves last September, when she first addressed the UN General Assembly in New York.
The speech marked a major shift in his image, from a former leader of a jihadist group to a head of state accepted on the global stage.
Sharaa was previously known as an important figure in the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group, which is affiliated with Al-Qaeda.However, the group was removed from the list of terrorist organizations by Washington last July, following a change in their political direction and strategy.
“This meeting at the White House is a symbol of the US commitment to the new Syria and represents a significant moment for Sharaa in his transformation from militant leader to global statesman,” said Michael Hanna, US Program Director at the International Crisis Group.
Syria’s recovery challenges
Apart from strengthening diplomatic ties, Sharaa is also expected to seek financial support to rebuild Syria, which was devastated by 13 years of war.
The World Bank last October estimated the country’s reconstruction costs at around US$216 billion or the equivalent of more than IDR 3,400 trillion.
After arriving in the US, Sharaa shared a video on social media showing herself playing basketball with CENTCOM Commander Brad Cooper and Head of Anti-ISIS Operations in Iraq, Kevin Lambert, with the short caption: “Work hard, play harder.”
Symbolic steps like this, according to observers, show Sharaa’s efforts to build a new image of Syria that is more open, moderate and ready to cooperate with the international world, after decades of being trapped in conflict and diplomatic isolation.
(tis/tis)
[Gambas:hitclubapk3 Video]
Read More: Chery Reveals J6T, Price Announced at GJAW 2025
Read More: Things to Pay Attention to Before Consulting with a ChatGPT ‘Doctor’
