BERLIN: On Monday, Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa will go to Germany to discuss the Middle East conflict, rebuilding his nation, and Berlin’s efforts to repatriate Syrian refugees. On his first visit to Germany since overthrowing longtime Syrian leader Bashar Assad in late 2024, Sharaa is anticipated to see President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
The former commander of an Islamist rebel group has been able to establish ties with Western countries and has traveled abroad on multiple occasions, including to Russia, France, and the United States. To aid Syria’s reconstruction following its brutal 14-year civil war, numerous international sanctions have been lifted.
According to Stefan Kornelius, a spokesman for the German government, Merz and Sharaa will talk about the Middle East conflict, Syria’s political status and rehabilitation efforts, and the return of Syrians to their native country.
According to a representative for the German foreign ministry, Sharaa will also attend a commercial and political roundtable in Berlin that will examine “prospects for economic recovery and the reconstruction of Syria. The foundations for (economic recovery) have been laid with the lifting of numerous EU, UN, and other sanctions following the end of the Assad regime,” he stated.
A new project to support Syria’s disaster management ministry and aid in emergency service training was launched by the German interior ministry prior to the visit.
The foreign ministry spokesperson responded that Berlin was “looking into” the situation when asked if the discussions will also cover the issue of German journalist Eva Maria Michelmann, who is missing in Syria. In recent years, almost a million Syrians have fled their war-torn nation for Germany; many of them arrived during the height of the migration wave in 2015–16.
In an effort to thwart the emergence of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, conservative Merz, who came to office in May of last year, has intensified efforts to restrict illegal immigration.
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