ISTANBUL

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani began an official visit to the UK on Wednesday, the first such trip in decades.

“Under the guidance of President Ahmad al-Sharaa, we are traveling to the United Kingdom on our first official visit,” Shaibani said on the US social media company X.

“We carry with us the hopes and aspirations of the Syrian people to build a nation that safeguards the future of our children and generations to come,” he added.

Shaibani will hold talks with a number of British officials during his visit, the Foreign Ministry said, without specifying his agenda.

The visit comes as part of the new Syrian administration’s efforts to end the country’s international isolation under the former regime of Bashar al-Assad.

The trip comes just two days after President Sharaa visited the White House, where he met with US President Donald Trump.

In mid-October, Sharaa also held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin.

The US and UK removed sanctions on Sharaa on Nov. 7, a day after the UN Security Council took a similar move.