Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani has arrived in the Pakistani capital Islamabad, marking the first visit by a top Syrian diplomat to Pakistan in 19 years, the Syrian Arab News Agency reported.
Al-Shaibani was accompanied by a high-level delegation, and no further details regarding events following his arrival have been revealed as yet.
Al-Shaibani is in Pakistan on Wednesday and Thursday at the invitation of his counterpart Ishaq Dar, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
"During the visit, the two sides will hold in-depth discussions across the entire spectrum of bilateral relations, review avenues for further enhancing bilateral cooperation, and exchange views on regional and international developments," the ministry said.
"The visit marks an important step towards further enhancing Pakistan-Syria relations and advancing cooperation between the two countries,” it added.
The trip marks the highest-level visit by a Syrian official to Pakistan since the overthrow of Bashar Assad in December 2024, although other Syrian Cabinet ministers have visited Islamabad since then.
The last Syrian foreign minister to visit Pakistan was Walid al-Mouallem in 2007.
Diplomatic engagement
In addition to talks with Dar, Al-Shaibani is expected to meet Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and other top officials.
Al-Shaibani's visit comes as Islamabad on Wednesday "strongly" condemned an unprovoked attack carried out by Israeli occupation forces on the Abu al-Duhur Airbase in Syria's north-western Idlib province.
Islamabad and Damascus have maintained relations for decades, strengthened by military cooperation and training exchanges.
Pakistan's Embassy in Damascus remained open following Assad's overthrow, although bilateral cooperation between the two countries has remained limited over the past two years.
Pakistan and Syria formally established diplomatic relations in December 1949, two years after the creation of Pakistan.
