The new Syrian Foreign Minister met with Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani for talks in Doha, as the de facto authorities of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) seek to establish diplomatic relations with regional and global governments.
Foreign Minister Assad al-Shibani stated on X that he also plans to visit Jordan and the United Arab Emirates to develop strategic partnerships and support the security and economic recovery of Syria.
On Thursday, al-Shibani met with his Saudi counterpart in Riyadh.
Additionally, on Friday, he hosted the foreign ministers of Germany and France in Damascus.
HTS led a rapid uprising that ousted President Bashar al-Assad on December 8, ending a decade-long rule by his family.
Since 2011, and until Assad's fall due to the uprising and civil war in Syria, approximately 500,000 people have died.
Much of the world severed diplomatic ties with Assad due to his brutal repression of protesters and imposed sanctions against him and his Russian and Iranian allies.
Now, the Islamist-controlled Syria hopes to restore these ties and lift the sanctions imposed on HTS and its leader Ahmad al-Sharaa to revive the Syrian economy.
Assad was supported by Russia, Iran, and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
HTS now hopes that Syria can strengthen ties with Arab countries in the region.
Qatar supports opposition groups fighting against Assad and his allies. It is one of the few Arab countries that has opposed restoring relations with the former president and Syria's return to the Arab League in 2023.
"We conveyed to Doha our concerns regarding the economic sanctions imposed against the Syrian people and again call on the United States to lift these sanctions," al-Shibani was quoted by the Syrian radio station Sham FM.
According to the UN, about 90% of Syrians live in poverty, and more than half of the population does not know where their next meal will come from.
Al-Sharaa stated that he would hold a national dialogue summit involving various groups across Syria to agree on a political roadmap that will lead to the adoption of a new constitution and elections.
He vowed to dissolve HTS during the summit and said in an interview with the Saudi network Al-Arabiyya that the de facto rulers at this transitional stage will have the same political background for effective governance of the country.
However, it remains unclear whether Washington will lift sanctions in the near future.
Meanwhile, Europe is showing hesitation due to concerns about how religious minorities and women will be treated.