LONDON: The Saudi Ambassador to the Syrian Arab Republic Ghazi Al-Anzi has presented his credentials to Asaad Hassan Al-Shaibani, the foreign minister of Syria, the Saudi Embassy in Damascus has reported.

Al-Shaibani also received the credentials of the ambassadors of Brazil, Uzbekistan, Sweden, and the EU during a ceremony on Thursday, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency.

Al-Anzi was appointed as the Saudi ambassador to Syria in July. He had been the director general of the General Department of Arab States at the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He replaced in his ambassadorial role Faisal bin Saud Al-Mujfel, who is now the Saudi ambassador to France.

The new Saudi ambassador is expected to strengthen cooperation ties with Syria as the country emerges from nearly 14 years of diplomatic isolation and civil war following the collapse of the Bashar Assad regime in late 2024.

Separately, Brazilian Ambassador Eduardo Barbosa submitted a copy of his credentials to Al-Shaibani as Brazil’s envoy to Syria. Uzbekistan’s Ambassador Ayub Khan Butsov also presented his credentials as his country’s diplomatic representative in Damascus.

The exchanges mark the start of the formal accreditation process for the newly appointed envoys.

Most Western countries, along with several Arab states, closed or suspended their embassies in Damascus in 2012 and the years that followed as then-President Bashar Assad’s violent crackdown on the 2011 uprising spiraled into civil war.

The decisions reflected both international condemnation of Assad’s government and growing fears for diplomats’ safety amid bombings, armed clashes and deteriorating security in the capital.