LONDON: European officials discussed with Syrian counterparts plans for EU support and collaboration on development initiatives amid national recovery efforts in Syria this year and next.
Infrastructure in the country was heavily damaged during the civil war that began 2011 and ended in late 2024 with the fall of the Assad regime.
The talks in Damascus on Tuesday were led by Qutaiba Kadish, director of the Syrian International Cooperation Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the EU’s charge d’affaires to the country, Michael Ohnmacht.
They reviewed European aid for various sectors in Syria and explored ways in which development programs might be enhanced, the Syrian Arab News Agency reported.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said last week that the commission would vote next month on reactivating the EU-Syria Cooperation Agreement, a partnership deal with the country established in 1978. It was suspended by the European Commission after the civil war in Syria began in 2011 following a brutal crackdown by the regime of President Bashar Assad on peaceful protests.
The accord provides a framework for economic, social and trade cooperation, including the removal of customs duties on most Syrian industrial exports to the EU.
