Syria’s Assad visits UAE in first trip to Arab state since 2011 | Al Jazeera

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has met Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum in Dubai, the Syrian presidency said in a statement, in his first visit to an Arab state since the Syrian war began in 2011.

Assad has also met Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the state news agencies of the United Arab Emirates and Syria reported on Friday.

The meeting comes days after the 11th anniversary of the beginning of the uprising in Syria, which ultimately has not succeeded in unseating al-Assad.

The meeting between Assad and Al Maktoum “dealt with the overall relations between the two countries and the prospects for expanding the circle of bilateral cooperation, especially at the economic, investment and commercial levels,” Syria’s state news agency SANA reported.