Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa has described Emmanuel Macron’s arrival in Damascus as a meaningful shift in relations between the two countries, pointing to France’s role in the lifting of sanctions and its potential place in Syria’s reconstruction.
Speaking to French channel BFMTV on Monday, al-Sharaa said Macron “has been in contact with us since liberation, and France played a constructive role in lifting sanctions on Syria.” He added that the visit “represents an important development in the relationship between the two countries.”
Al-Sharaa said Syria was now in a reconstruction phase and needed partners with advanced technical capabilities. “We are building institutions in Syria and establishing many partnerships, including in the aviation sector, as well as tourism, agriculture, and industry,” he said, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency. France, he said, would be expected to work across infrastructure, industry, the financial sector, and structural reform.
On migration, al-Sharaa said Syria had already moved to curb the outflows that defined the Assad era, noting that 1.5 million displaced people had returned since liberation. He also said the new government had been dismantling the drug production and trafficking networks associated with the former regime since taking power in Damascus.
The visit is expected to include the signing of several agreements, al-Sharaa said.
Macron arrived in Syria on Monday evening, making him the first French president to visit since 2009. He said he had come to Damascus “to affirm France’s commitment to standing by the Syrian people for a sovereign Syria, united in its plurality, living in peace with its neighbours,” according to Syrian television cited by dpa.
