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Hindustan Times
a day ago
- Health
- Hindustan Times
India sends diplomat for talks to Damascus
India has made a formal outreach to Syria's provisional government led by former Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, with a middle-ranking diplomat visiting Damascus for meetings with Syrian ministers. India sends diplomat for talks to Damascus This was the first official visit to Damascus from the Indian side since al-Sharaa, whose group was once affiliated to al-Qaeda, assumed power after ousting the regime of Bashar al-Assad following a lightning offensive last December. There was no official word from the Indian side on the visit by Suresh Kumar, director of the West Asia and North Africa (WANA) division of the external affairs ministry. Kumar's meetings with Syria's foreign and education ministers in Damascus on Monday were reported by state-run SANA news agency. 'A beginning had to be made and India had to register its presence. You have to open the door at some point,' a person familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity. Syria's foreign minister Asaad Al-Shaibani and the Indian delegation led by Kumar discussed 'issues of mutual concern and ways of enhancing relations between the two countries in the interests of both peoples', SANA reported. The meeting between Kumar and Syrian health minister Musab Al-Ali focused on enhancing health cooperation, particularly in the fields of pharmaceutical industries and medical training, according to another report by SANA. The two sides also discussed a mechanism for implementing a scholarship for Syrian students, and allocating a specialised engineering cooperation programme for government employees. Al-Ali stressed Syria's aspiration to establish a strong partnership with India in pharmaceutical industries and health technologies in order to support the national health sector and provide medicines. Kumar said India will continue funding specialised training courses for Syrian personnel, coordinate the training of Syrian doctors in Indian centres, and enhance cooperation in nursing, pharmaceutical industries and pharmaceutical exports, the report said. India has had strong political ties with Syria and both countries were key members of the Non-Aligned Movement. India's traditional support for Arab causes such as the issue of Palestine was appreciated by Syria. India also backed Syria's right to the Golan Heights, currently occupied by Israel, and its full return to the country. Under the Assad family, the Syrian government usually backed India at multilateral forums, including on the issue of Kashmir. In response to a request from Damascus for emergency humanitarian aid in 2021, the Indian government gifted 2,000 tonnes of rice to Syria. During the Covid-19 pandemic, India sent a 10 tonnes of medicines to Syria. This was the largest medical assistance from any country to Syria during the pandemic. India has been monitoring the situation in Syria since the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024. At the time, India evacuated 77 Indian nationals from Syria. 'We hope that the new constitution, due to be drafted, takes into account the interests of all the sections of the Syrian society,' the external affairs ministry said in a statement around the time of the change of government. In January, al-Sharaa, a former al-Qaeda commander who went by the name Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, became president of the provisional government. People familiar with the matter said the outreach to Damascus was influenced by Syria's strategic location in West Asia – the country shares borders with five key regional actors, Turkey, Iraq, Jordan, Israel and Lebanon – and the long-standing ties between the two sides. The outreach also follows the US decision to end sanctions on Syria after a meeting between al-Sharaa and President Donald Trump in May.
News18
a day ago
- Health
- News18
Indian diplomat visits Syria
New Delhi, Jul 29 (PTI) An Indian diplomat has held meetings with Syrian ministers in Damascus in what appears to be India's first formal outreach to Syria's transitional government led by former Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) leader Ahmed al-Sharaa. Suresh Kumar, director of the West Asia and North Africa (WANA) division in the external affairs ministry, held meetings with Syria's Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani and Health Minister Musab Al-Ali, Syrian news agency SANA reported. There is no official word yet on Kumar's visit to Syria. Health Minister Musab Al-Ali held discussion with the Indian delegation headed by Kumar that focused on ways to enhance health cooperation, particularly in the pharmaceutical sector, the report said. view comments First Published: July 29, 2025, 20:45 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Health
- Hindustan Times
Indian diplomat visits Syria for meetings with regime led by al-Sharaa
New Delhi: India has made a formal outreach to Syria's provisional government led by former Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, with a middle-ranking diplomat visiting Damascus for meetings with Syrian ministers. Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa. (REUTERS) This was the first official visit to Damascus from the Indian side since al-Sharaa, whose group was once affiliated to al-Qaeda, assumed power after ousting the regime of Bashar al-Assad following a lightning offensive last December. There was no official word from the Indian side on the visit by Suresh Kumar, director of the West Asia and North Africa (WANA) division of the external affairs ministry. Kumar's meetings with Syria's foreign and education ministers in Damascus on Monday were reported by State-run SANA news agency. 'A beginning had to be made and India had to register its presence. You have to open the door at some point,' a person familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity. Syria's foreign minister Asaad Al-Shaibani and the Indian delegation led by Kumar discussed 'issues of mutual concern and ways of enhancing relations between the two countries in the interests of both peoples', SANA reported. The meeting between Kumar and Syrian health minister Musab Al-Ali focused on enhancing health cooperation, particularly in the fields of pharmaceutical industries and medical training, according to another report by SANA. The two sides also discussed a mechanism for implementing a scholarship for Syrian students, and allocating a specialised engineering cooperation programme for government employees. Al-Ali stressed Syria's aspiration to establish a strong partnership with India in pharmaceutical industries and health technologies in order to support the national health sector and provide medicines. Kumar said India will continue funding specialised training courses for Syrian personnel, coordinate the training of Syrian doctors in Indian centres, and enhance cooperation in nursing, pharmaceutical industries and pharmaceutical exports, the report said. India has had strong political ties with Syria and both countries were key members of the Non-Aligned Movement. India's traditional support for Arab causes such as the issue of Palestine was appreciated by Syria. India also backed Syria's right to the Golan Heights, currently occupied by Israel, and its full return to the country. Under the Assad family, the Syrian government usually backed India at multilateral forums, including on the issue of Kashmir. In response to a request from Damascus for emergency humanitarian aid in 2021, the Indian government gifted 2,000 tonnes of rice to Syria. During the Covid-19 pandemic, India sent 10 tonnes of medicines to Syria. This was the largest medical assistance from any country to Syria during the pandemic. India has been monitoring the situation in Syria since the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024. At the time, India evacuated 77 Indian nationals from Syria. 'We hope that the new constitution, due to be drafted, takes into account the interests of all the sections of the Syrian society,' the external affairs ministry said in a statement around the time of the change of government. In January, al-Sharaa, a former al-Qaeda commander who went by the name Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, became president of the provisional government. People familiar with the matter said the outreach to Damascus was influenced by Syria's strategic location in West Asia – the country shares borders with five key regional actors, Turkey, Iraq, Jordan, Israel and Lebanon – and the long-standing ties between the two sides. The outreach also follows the US decision to end sanctions on Syria after a meeting between al-Sharaa and President Donald Trump in May.
Gulf Today
20-07-2025
- Politics
- Gulf Today
There is widespead concern that Syria might break up
The ceasefire brokered by the US, Turkey, and Jordan appears to have ended a week of violence in Syria's southern province of Sweida where Druze militiamen battled Sunni Bedouin tribesmen bolstered by Sunni factional militiamen from elsewhere. Clashes erupted on the 13th following the Bedouin kidnapping of a Druze merchant travelling to Damascus. The number of people killed in Sweida is 940, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, and scores were injured. When the Syrian army began to intervene mid-week, Israel bombed the defence ministry in Damascus, fired missiles near the presidential palace and struck Syrian troops entering Sweida. Israel's involvement was not welcomed by Arab, Turkish and US mediators. Even Donald Trump expressed rare criticism of Israel. Syrian Druze constitute the largest Druze community in the world and the third largest minority in that country. The monotheistic faith evolved from Shiism in the 11th century and has long been a separate religion. As Druze have been persecuted for centuries, they have, as a matter of survival, adopted the practice of taqiya, dissimulation, by appearing to merge with the local population while remaining Druze. Druze number about 700,000 and constitute about 3 per cent of Syria's population. While they are concentrated in the Druze majority province of Sweida, Druze have also settled around Damascus and elsewhere in the country. About 300,000 Druze live in Lebanon and a small number in Jordan. The Druze have played important roles in the independence struggles of both Syria and Lebanon and have assumed active political careers in these states since then. Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt has followed the example of his father and acted as a kingmaker in Lebanon. Respected as a voice for Druze in the region, he condemned Israel's intervention in Sweida and convened a meeting of Lebanese Druze leaders with the aim of countering possible spillover of Syrian Druze-Sunni violence. Another prominent Arab Druze, Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, joined his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan to demand an urgent end to Israel's involvement. While Syrian Druze and Bedouin have sparred for decades, the latest bout of violence did not begin as a sectarian confrontation but over farmland, a traditional issue. After Bashar al-Assad assumed power in 2000, the government initiated economic and agricultural reforms. Farm subsidies were gradually withdrawn and restrictions on water usage and land access were imposed. While Druze villagers protested Bedouin farmers did not, generating hostility against their community. However, Druze and Bedouin farmers came together to protest over neglect by the government due to the lack of services and security. Following Assad 's ouster in December last year, Druze have been divided over their approach to the Sunni fundamentalist Hay 'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) government. Some Druze factions have tried to negotiate a new relationship with Damascus, others resist merging their militias with the country's armed forces, and many reject the presence of Syrian security personnel and soldiers in Sweida. Meanwhile, Druze and Bedouin antagonism to the government increased. Bedouin were angered by the appointment of Druze Amjad Bahr as agriculture minister, while Druze did not see this as providing them with sufficient influence in Damascus. In the absence of firm state control since the takeover by HTS under interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, there have been frequent clashes between Bedouin and Druze, who insist that Sweida must enjoy autonomy, and security must be provided by Druze militia factions — both demands rejected by Bedouin. Syria's southernmost, Sweida is a strategic province with a population of 540,400, 91 per cent Druze, according to the UN. The Druze demand for autonomy amounts to a major challenge to the government at a time the northeast, 25 per cent of Syrian territory, is ruled by Syrian Kurds who also seek self-rule within Syria. There is concern that Syria — which with Iraq makes up the Eastern Arab heartland — could fracture. This has been the goal of Israel since its creation by war 77 years ago. In a bid to weaken Damascus grip on Syrian territory, Israel Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has warned against deploying the Syrian army in the southern border regions. Last December, Israeli troops invaded and occupied the UN-patrolled buffer zone in the Golan Heights established by a 1974 agreement with Syria. Israel occupied the Syrian Golan Heights in 1967 and annexed the territory, which has a Druze population of 20,000, most of whom retain Syrian citizenship. About 130,000 Druze live in Israel, have Israeli citizenship and many have served in the Israeli army and the Knesset. Israeli Druze protested in 2018 after adopting a law defining Israel as the "nation state" of the Jewish people. Druze, who count for 1.6 per cent and Palestinian Arabs 21 per cent, cried foul as this law transformed them into "second-class citizens." The normally loyal Druze protested in the streets. Although Druze are prominent in literature, politics, business, and the military in Israel their voices fell on deaf ears. Druze have emigrated to the US, UK, Europe, and Latin America although many retain communal connections and an active interest in the affairs of this conflicted region. One of the founders in 1968 of American Near East Refugee Aid, ANERA, was Jim Sams (Abu Samra) whose family comes from the 12th century Lebanese Chouf Mountain Druze village of Baakleen. The most high-profile Druze on the global scene today is British-born international lawyer Amal Alamuddin who is married to US actor George Clooney. The couple have founded the Clooney Foundation for Justice which operated in 40 countries in defence of free speech and women's rights.
L'Orient-Le Jour
20-07-2025
- Politics
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Yassine al-Haj Saleh: In Syria, we no longer have translators between pains
Seven months ago, the lightning offensive led by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham and its allies resulted within days in the fall of a regime more than half a century old, considered one of the most repressive in the world. The advent of a new era raised hopes for a better future for its people. But that interlude quickly anti-Alawite massacres carried out in March by forces allied with the new regime, the clashes between Druze, Bedouins and government forces that have killed several hundred since last Sunday in Sweida have reminded everyone how alive sectarian hatred remains. In both cases, the government, led by Ahmad al-Sharaa, proved incapable of stopping its men from committing crimes in territories largely inhabited by religious minorities. What lies behind this violence? What does it say about the new government? And how can the...
