SANA news agency informed that Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani received Guterres and his accompanying delegation at Damascus International Airport.

The last UN secretary-general to visit Syria was Ban Ki-moon in 2009, which lends particular political significance to Guterres’s trip, in moments when the country undergoes a period of transition following the fall of the government of President Bashar al-Assad on December 8, 2014.

UN Secretary-General’s Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric announced that Guterres would travel to Syria this week at the invitation of the government and would hold meetings in Damascus with President Ahmad al-Sharaa and several officials, including Al-Shaibani.

Dujarric noted that the UN chief will reaffirm the international organization’s commitment to supporting the Syrian government and people during this period and will underscore the need to respect the sovereignty, unity, independence, and territorial integrity of the Arab country.

The UN official will discuss with Syrian officials the progress of the transition process, recovery efforts, and the consequences of years of conflict.

The spokesperson noted that the visitor will also meet with representatives of civil society, non-governmental organizations focused on women’s issues, as well as other sectors of Syrian society.

As part of his agenda, Guterres plans to visit the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), deployed in the buffer zone of the occupied Syrian Golan Heights.

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