UN Secretary-General Guterres arrives in Syria in rare visit

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres arrived in Damascus on July 25 for an official visit that includes meetings with senior Syrian officials and a visit to the UN peacekeeping mission monitoring the ceasefire between Syria and Israel.

Guterres was welcomed at Damascus International Airport by Syrian Foreign Minister Assad Hassan al-Shaibani, SANA reports.

According to Syrian officials, the visit is expected to lay the groundwork for expanding United Nations programmes in Syria, with a focus on education, healthcare, energy, water supply, agriculture, environmental protection, and digital transformation. The initiatives are intended to support the country's post-war recovery and long-term sustainable development.

The visit marks the first trip by a UN secretary-general to Damascus since 2009. The last UN chief to visit Syria was Ban Ki-moon.

As part of his itinerary, Guterres is also scheduled to travel to Quneitra to visit the headquarters of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF). The peacekeeping mission was established in 1974 to supervise the ceasefire and disengagement agreement between Israel and Syria in the Golan Heights.

By Sabina Mammadli