ISTANBUL

Japan will provide aid of $53 million to Syria as the bilateral ties between the two countries were restored after 15 years of suspension, the Foreign Ministry said.

Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Yohei Onishi visited Damascus on Monday and met Syrian Finance Minister Mohammed Yasser Barnieh, the ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

He expressed Japan’s intention to support an "inclusive, peaceful, and stable transition by the Syrian government, which has undergone historic changes," adding that the day marked the opening of a "new chapter in Japan-Syria relations."

Tokyo has decided to resume bilateral economic cooperation with Syria, he said.

Onishi also expressed Japan’s intention to support Syria’s reconstruction by utilizing the people-to-people connections cultivated between the two countries as well as Japan’s knowledge and experience.

The Syrian side outlined steps to stabilize the country since December 2024, when the Assad regime was ousted, and expressed strong hopes for Japan’s role in reconstruction.

The Damascus visit represented "the highest-level Japanese diplomatic trip to Syria in more than 15 years," according to the Syrian Foreign Ministry.

Onishi also held an official meeting with Mohammad Zakaria Lababidi, director of the Afro-Asian and Oceania Affairs Department, to discuss ways of developing bilateral relations and resuming cooperation in various fields.