India is set to reach out to President Bashar al-Assad’s regime in war-torn Syria with Minister of State for External Affairs M J Akbar’s visit to Damascus next week.
Akbar is the first Indian minister to travel to Syria after the anti-government protest escalated into a civil war in the West Asian nation. He will also visit Lebanon and Iraq, which have not received a high-level visitor from India for years.
In Damascus, Akbar will call on al-Assad and Prime Minister Emad Mohammad Deeb Khamis. The discussions will focus on the India-Syria bilateral cooperation and unfolding security situation in the region, Vikas Swarup, official spokesperson of the ministry, told mediapersons in New Delhi.
Akbar will also meet Syrian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Walid al-Moallem, who visited New Delhi and held a meeting with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj last January. He will convey to al-Moallem that India continues to be in favour of the peaceful resolution of the conflict in Syria and that New Delhi is ready to provide more humanitarian assistance to the nation.
India contributed $4 million for humanitarian assistance in Syria and pledged $5 million more, in addition to supplying medicines worth $1 million. India has also given $1 million towards the destruction of chemical weapons in Syria.
Akbar will also meet Syria National Security Advisor Ali Mamlouk and interact with the Grand Mufti of Syria Ahmad Badreddin Hassoun, who had visited Delhi in March last year.
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