In its coverage of Bashar al Assad’s visit to the UAE, Al Monitor reported yesterday that discussions on bringing Syria back into the Arab League are gaining momentum, as is consideration of ways to bring more economic aid into the country. Notable is that Assad was accompanied by his wife, Asma, which was considered significant enough by SANA to warrant separate coverage of her discussions.
Bassam Barabandi, a former Syrian diplomat, told Al-Monitor that the main purpose of the visit is to facilitate humanitarian aid to the country, possibly to be included in initiatives by the first ladies’ offices. In February, following the earthquakes in Syria and Turkey, the UAE pledged one of the largest sums of any single nation to help Syria at $100 million. “This [humanitarian] file has witnessed a great development since mid-February, through the activation of direct coordination channels,” Barabandi said.
“Abu Dhabi will likely present a package of proposals related to the possibility of providing the necessary economic support to the Syrian side in the event that a number of conditions are met,” Barabandi continued. “Foremost of which is taking serious measures related to containing the national security threats to neighboring countries, including Turkey and Jordan.”
