Syrian FM Asaad al-Shaibani arrives in Pakistan for two-day official visit

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani arrived in Islamabad early on Thursday on an official visit. The Foreign Office (FO) shared pictures of the visiting minister arriving in Islamabad on the social media platform 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.”

Shaibani's arrival in Pakistan marks first Syrian diplomatic visit in nearly two decades Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani arrived in Pakistan on Wednesday, marking the first visit by a senior Syrian diplomat to the country in 19 years. According to the Syrian Arab News Agency, Shaibani was accompanied by a high-level delegation in Islamabad. 

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani is due to visit Pakistan at the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, the Foreign Office (FO) said in a statement on Wednesday. The visit comes as Syria’s transitional leadership pursues regional and international engagement following the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in 2024. According to the statement, Shaibani would undertake the visit from August 19-20 and will be accompanied by a high-level delegation. “During the visit, the two sides will 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,” the statement read. The FO noted that the visit marks an important step towards further enhancing bilateral relations and cooperation between Pakistan and Syria. The visit will be 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. Earlier today, the FO 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 lived 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 on Wednesday. “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.”

ISLAMABAD: Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani is due here on Wednesday for a two-day official visit, marking the first visit by a Syrian foreign minister to Pakistan in nearly two decades as the two countries seek to revive political, economic and security cooperation. Mr Shaibani is expected to hold talks with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and call on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, besides meeting the ministers for defence and commerce, AFP quoted diplomatic sources as saying. The visit, scheduled for Aug 19-20, comes as Syria’s transitional leadership pursues regional and international engagement following the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in 2024. The diplomatic source told AFP that Mr Shaibani was visiting the country at the invitation of Pakistan’s leadership and expressed hope that the visit would prove “historic for bilateral cooperation”. The source said that while there was currently no formal framework for broad cooperation between the two countries, discussions were expected to cover defence, economic cooperation and reconciliation, besides regional developments and security issues in the Middle East. The visit will be 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. Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2026