DAMASCUS: Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani will head to Islamabad on Wednesday for a two-day visit, a diplomatic source in Damascus told AFP on Tuesday.
The source, who requested anonymity, said that Shaibani would be in Pakistan on August 19 and 20 at the invitation of his counterpart Ishaq Dar and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
The source said it would be the first visit by a Syrian foreign minister since the overthrow of Bashar Assad in 2024, but that other ministers had been to Islamabad since then.
“There is hope that this visit will be the historic for bilateral cooperation,” the source added.
Shaibani is expected to meet with Sharif as well as Pakistan’s ministers of defense and commerce.
“Currently, there is no formal cooperation” between the two countries, the source said, but many issues are planned to be discussed “regarding defense, economic cooperation, reconciliation.”
Before Assad’s fall, Damascus and Islamabad enjoyed close relations, strengthened by reciprocal visits, political and military cooperation, and training exchanges.
After the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011, Pakistan adopted a position rejecting foreign military intervention and attempts to overthrow Assad by force, affirming its support for Syria’s unity and sovereignty.
Islamabad maintained its diplomatic representation, and its embassy in Damascus remained open. After Assad’s overthrow, the embassy remained open and Islamabad maintained its diplomatic representation.
