Visiting Qatar PM says to help Syria rehabilitate infrastructure

DAMASCUS: Qatar’s prime minister vowed Thursday to support the rehabilitation of Syria’s infrastructure, devastated by nearly 14 years of civil war, during his first visit to Damascus since forces seized power last month.

“We will provide the necessary technical support to make the needed infrastructure operational again and provide support to the electricity sector,” said Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani.

“The agreement includes supplying power with a capacity of 200 megawatts and gradually increasing production,” he said at a joint press conference with Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa.

Last week, Syria’s national electricity company said Qatar and Turkiye would send power ships to increase supply after the United States eased some sanctions.

Qatar “extends its hand to our Syrian brothers for future partnerships,” Sheikh Mohammed said, adding that essential needs include “continuing to provide public services to the Syrian people”.

Arab, EU diplomats in Saudi for talks on support for Syria

Unlike other Arab countries, Qatar never restored diplomatic ties with Syria under ousted president Bashar al-Assad and was one of the first to back the armed rebellion that erupted after his government crushed a peaceful uprising in 2011.

Last week, a diplomatic source said Qatar was weighing a plan to provide Syria with funds after Damascus decided to increase public sector salaries.

Sheikh Mohammed, whose country was a key mediator in clinching a truce and hostage-release deal between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, also demanded Israel “immediately withdraw” from its buffer zone with Syria.

“The Israeli occupation’s seizure of the buffer zone is a reckless… act and it must immediately withdraw,” he said.

The same day Assad was toppled, Israel announced its troops were crossing the armistice line and into a UN-patrolled buffer zone that has separated Israeli and Syrian forces on the strategic Golan Heights since 1974.

Israel seized much of the Golan Heights from Syria in a war in 1967, later annexing the territory in a move largely unrecognised by the international community.

Sharaa said his authorities were counting on the support of Qatar to help stop Israel from making any further advances into Syrian territory.

Israel’s army should return to “where it was before,” he said, adding Qatar “supports this view and will use all means available to exert pressure on Israel”.

On Wednesday, an Israeli air strike hit a target belonging to Syria’s new authorities for the first time, killing three people, a war monitor and a medical source said.

Earlier this month, ministers from Syria’s transitional government including top diplomat Asaad al-Shaibani met with the Qatari prime minister in Doha.