This week, the South Korean Foreign Ministry announced the establishment of diplomatic relations with Syria. This is an important diplomatic milestone for South Korea, which has now completed official ties with all UN member states except North Korea.
Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul traveled to Damascus on Thursday to complete this process and met with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani and held talks on improving bilateral relations. “This development opens a new chapter of cooperation with Syria, whose bilateral relations with South Korea have been interrupted due to its close ties with North Korea,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. In his meeting with Al-Shaibani, Cho expressed South Korea’s readiness to share its economic development experience to support Syria’s reconstruction process and hoped that bilateral cooperation would contribute to Syria’s development and regional stability. Cho also discussed the possibility of South Korean companies participating in Syria’s reconstruction and the provision of humanitarian aid such as medicines, medical equipment and rice. For his part, the Syrian Foreign Minister expressed his gratitude for South Korea’s overtures and hoped that Seoul would support his country’s efforts to ease the sanctions imposed on it. He expressed South Korea’s readiness to play a role in supporting the efforts of the new Syrian government. For his part, Al-Sharaa welcomed the establishment of relations with South Korea, noting that “South Korea’s support is critical for Syria as it makes a new start” and expressed hope for “a friendly and cooperative relationship that contributes to international peace.”
