PM Shehbaz stresses need to translate friendship with Syria into bilateral cooperation

Visiting Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday, with the premier stressing that the longstanding ties between Islamabad and Damascus needed to yield enhanced bilateral cooperation, according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

Damascus’ top diplomat arrived in Islamabad in the early hours for an official visit at the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar.

PM Shehbaz recalled the “historic and multifaceted ties” between Islamabad and Damascus, and emphasised the need to translate longstanding friendship into enhanced cooperation across multiple sectors, including politics, defence, trade, investment, education, and human resource development.

“The prime minister reaffirmed Pakistan’s support for Syria’s unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity and said Pakistan would firmly support Syria’s position on the Golan Heights,” the PMO said.

Additionally, the premier “stated that the resumption of direct flights between the two countries would enhance people-to-people exchanges and facilitate a large number of pilgrims who undertake religious visits to Syria from Pakistan”, the PMO said.

Al-Shaibani, in turn, conveyed Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s greetings to PM Shehbaz and briefed him on the country’s ongoing transitional and reconstruction efforts.

He also expressed gratitude to Pakistan for its consistent support to Syria throughout and expressed his government’s keen interest in “revitalising bilateral engagement, including through early institutional mechanisms for cooperation”, the statement added.

Conveying his best regards to the Syrian president, PM Shehbaz extended an invitation to al-Sharaa to undertake an official visit to Pakistan at a “mutually convenient date”.

Earlier today, Dar reaffirmed Pakistan’s support for Syria’s “sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity,” the Foreign Office (FO) said.

The FO said that during delegation-level talks, DPM Dar reaffirmed Pakistan’s support for Syria’s sovereignty. The remarks came after an Israeli attack on an airbase in Syria a day prior.

During the talks, the two sides reaffirmed “longstanding brotherly ties”, expanding bilateral cooperation and exchanged views on “regional and international developments, including Palestine, the Golan Heights, Afghanistan, the situation in South Asia, and developments in the Middle East,” FO said.

Al-Shaibani also welcomed the signing of the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, lauding Pakistan’s role in regional peace and stability, particularly in the US-Israeli war on Iran.

“Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to continued engagement and cooperation for peace, stability, and prosperity in the region and beyond.”

Prior to delegation-level talks, DPM Dar and his Syrian counterpart held a restricted meeting, during which the two leaders reiterated their commitment to “brotherly ties,” discussed avenues to expand bilateral cooperation and held “in-depth” discussions on regional developments.

Earlier, the FO shared pictures of the visiting minister arriving in Islamabad on X.

“Upon arrival, the distinguished guest was received by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ additional secretary (Middle East),” it said.

The visit comes as Syria’s transitional leadership pursues regional and international engagement following the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in 2024.

A day earlier, the FO said the two sides would hold in-depth discussions across the entire spectrum of bilateral relations, review avenues for further enhancing bilateral cooperation, and exchange views on regional and international developments.

It also said the visit would mark an important step towards further enhancing bilateral relations and cooperation between Pakistan and Syria.

The visit is the first by a Syrian foreign minister since Walid al-Mouallem travelled to Pakistan in May 2007 and the first since the change of government in Damascus.

The visit also comes after Pakistan on Wednesday strongly condemned an “unprovoked” attack carried out by Israel on an airbase in Syria, saying such acts had the potential to “further undermine regional peace and stability”.

Syria’s state-run Ekhbariya television, citing a military source, said on Tuesday that Israel carried out eight airstrikes on the runway and storage facilities at the Abu al-Duhur base near Aleppo in northwest Syria. A separate military source and a civilian who lives near the base said there were no casualties.

“Such provocative actions constitute a flagrant violation of international law and have the potential to further undermine regional peace and stability,” the FO said.

“Pakistan expresses its unwavering solidarity with the brotherly people of Syria, and reiterates its full support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity as well as peace and prosperity of the Syrian Arab Republic.”