Ahmed al-Sharaa took office after the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad’s government late last year. The Syrian interim president is expected to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump.
During the visit, it is anticipated that Syria will sign an agreement to officially join the U.S.-led international coalition against ISIS.
U.S. officials also stated that they plan to establish a military base near Damascus in Syria.
After more than 13 years of civil war, Syria seeks to enter a reconstruction phase, with the cost of rebuilding estimated to exceed 200 billion dollars.
The United Nations Security Council recently lifted sanctions against al-Sharaa. From 2013 to 2024, al-Sharaa was on the sanctions list as the leader of HTS (Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham -Organization for the Liberation of the Levant), the former Syrian branch of al-Qaeda. However, since taking office, he has claimed to have distanced himself from his former jihadist stance and has increased diplomatic contacts with Western and regional countries. The new administration is also holding direct talks with Israel.