King Mohammed VI has ordered the reopening of Morocco's embassy in Damascus, which has been closed since 2012. «This gesture will open new horizons in the historical relations between our two countries and our two peoples», declared the monarch in a speech delivered at the Arab League summit held on Saturday, May 17, in Baghdad. The address was read by Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita. On the sidelines of the summit, the Moroccan foreign minister met with his Syrian counterpart, Asaad Al-Shibani, in the Iraqi capital. Their discussions focused on implementing the royal directive. Bourita announced that a Moroccan technical delegation will travel to Syria next week to assess preparations for the embassy's reopening. Meanwhile, Al-Shibani said that a Syrian technical team will be sent to restore Syria's diplomatic representation in Rabat. As a reminder, Moroccan authorities expelled the accredited Syrian ambassador from Rabat in July 2012. Following the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime, Morocco officially resumed contact with the new Syrian authorities. Nasser Bourita held a phone call with Asaad Al-Shibani on December 30, 2024. The two ministers later met for the first time on March 7 in Mecca, on the sidelines of a ministerial meeting that brought together representatives from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Morocco, Syria, Egypt, and Jordan.
