There has been growing engagement between Qatar and Syria since the fall of the Assad regime, with high-level visits taking place between both countries.
Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani has landed in Damascus, marking the first such visit by an Arab leader to the country since the ouster of Bashar Al-Assad late last year.
In a statement, the Amiri Diwan announced that Sheikh Tamim arrived at the Damascus International Airport, where he was received by Syria’s transitional president, Ahmed Al-Sharaa.
The Chargé D’Affairs at the Syrian Embassy in Doha, Belal Tourkya, issued a statement welcoming the Amir.
“On my behalf and on behalf of all the people of Syria, we express our deepest gratitude and appreciation to His Highness for all that he has provided to our people during the years of the revolution,” he said on X. “Under his guidance, Qatar has always been at the forefront in supporting the demands of our people and standing by them during their painful ordeal,”
“Honoured to have you, Your Highness, in your second homeland, Syria, among your family and brothers,” Tourkya added.
The Gulf state was the first to establish a diplomatic mission for the Syrian opposition in its capital, Doha. It later re-opened its embassy in Damascus in December 2024 for the first time since its closure in 2011.
The Amir’s visit follows the appointment of Al-Sharaa as Syria’s transitional president on Wednesday, along with his order to establish a temporary legislative council. This came after Al-Sharaa’s Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) led a rapid offensive that ended the 53-year Assad regime on December 8.
Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) issued a statement welcoming the latest steps taken by the Syrian administration that will pave the way “for consolidating civil peace, security, stability and building a state of law”.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stresses that the current critical stage in Syria requires the state to monopolise weapons in a single army that represents all components without exclusion, in order to preserve the country’s sovereignty,” MoFA added, reiterating Qatar’s support for the country.
Qatar’s stance against Assad
Qatar had severed ties with the Assad regime in 2011 in response to its brutal crackdown on peaceful pro-democracy protests, which dragged the nation into a civil war that resulted in the world’s largest refugee crisis.
The Gulf state was the first to establish a diplomatic mission for the Syrian opposition in its capital, Doha. It later re-opened its embassy in Damascus in December 2024 for the first time since its closure in 2011.
The Gulf state had maintained its unwavering stance against the Assad regime despite a wave of regional normalisation in 2023 that saw the Arab League reinstate Syria’s membership in the bloc.
Earlier this month, Qatar’s Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, told the World Economic Forum in Davos that Doha could not accept “reintegrating war criminals” and granting them immunity.
“If we accept such a thing once, it will set a precedent for any leader to just go around and to kill his own people without being held accountable,” Sheikh Mohammed, who is also Qatar’s foreign minister, said.
Growing engagement
The past two months saw a growing engagement between Qatar and the new Syrian administration.
On December 23, Qatar’s Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al Khulaifi, led a high-level Qatari delegation on a visit to Damascus.
A Qatari official told Doha News at the time that a technical aviation team from the Gulf state accompanied the delegation to assess the readiness of the Damascus airport for the resumption of its operations.
Qatar Airways then became the first flight to land at the airport on January 7.
Meanwhile, Qatar’s prime minister visited Damascus on January 16, days after Syria’s Foreign Minister, Asaad Al-Shaibani, visited Doha in what marked his first official visit to the Gulf state since taking office after Assad’s fall.
