Syria's foreign minister visits Qatar as new authorities seek regional and global diplomatic ties

Syria’s new foreign minister has met with his Qatari counterpart and Qatar’s prime minister in Doha on Sunday. Syria’s new de facto authorities under Hayat Tahrir al-Sham or HTS are establishing diplomatic ties with regional and global governments. Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani arrived in Doha on Sunday. He posted on X that he’s also set to visit Jordan and the United Arabs Emirates to develop strategic partnerships and support Syria’s security and economic recovery. Al-Shibani met with his Saudi counterpart in Riyadh on Thursday. HTS led a lightning insurgency that ousted President Bashar Assad on Dec. 8 and ended his family’s decades-long rule. Syria’s uprising and civil war killed an estimated 500,000 people from 2011 until Assad's downfall.