November 9, 2025 | 02:40 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa arrived in the United States on Saturday, November 8, for an official visit. The Syrian news agency, Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), reported that this arrival took place a day after Washington removed his name from the terrorism list. Al-Sharaa flew to America after attending the COP30 Climate Summit in Brazil on November 6.
According to TRT World, the President of Syria is scheduled to meet with President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday, November 10. This meeting will be the first official meeting between the two leaders since a brief meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, last May during Trump's regional tour.
Historic Meeting of Two Countries
As quoted by NDTV, this visit is a historic event, as it is the first by a Syrian president to the United States since the country's independence in 1946. Al-Sharaa, who led the rebel forces' overthrow of Bashar al-Assad last year, now leads the transitional government widely recognized by the international community.
This visit also follows the United Nations Security Council's decision last Thursday, at Washington's urging, to lift sanctions against al-Sharaa. Previously, in September, he attended the UN General Assembly in New York, his first visit to America, and became the first Syrian president in decades to address the forum.
New Direction in Syria-U.S. Relations
The spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State, Tommy Pigott, stated that al-Sharaa's government has fulfilled several of Washington's demands, including efforts to find missing American citizens and dispose of remaining chemical weapons.
"These actions are being taken in recognition of the progress demonstrated by the Syrian leadership after the departure of Bashar al-Assad and more than 50 years of repression under the Assad regime," said Pigott.
The U.S. envoy for Syria, Tom Barrack, stated earlier this month that al-Sharaa is expected to sign an agreement to join the U.S.-led international alliance in fighting the Islamic State (IS) group.
This move also marks a major shift in Syria's international position. According to TRT World, the group formerly led by al-Sharaa, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which was once affiliated with Al-Qaeda, was removed from the list of terrorist organizations by Washington last July.
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