Jordan hosts meeting to facilitate Syria’s return to Arab League

Adam Lucente

May 1, 2023

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan (L), Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad (R) arrive for a regional meeting on Syria, in Amman on May 1, 2023. - Arab foreign ministers will gather in Jordan on May 1, to discuss Syria's long-running conflict and ending Damascus's diplomatic isolation in the region, the foreign ministry in Amman said. (Photo by Khalil MAZRAAWI / AFP) (Photo by KHALIL MAZRAAWI/afp/AFP v — Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan (L), Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad (R) arrive for a regional meeting in Amman, Jordan, on May 1, 2023. — KHALIL MAZRAAWI/afp/AFP via Getty Images

Arab diplomats gathered in Jordan Monday for a meeting on Syria’s return to the Arab League. Amman has taken a leading role in advocating for Damascus' return to the organization this month ahead of its May 19 meeting in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and his Egyptian and Iraqi counterparts Sameh Shoukry and Fuad Hussein all traveled to Amman for the meeting with Syria's Faisal al-Mekdad. Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi met Mekdad ahead of the five-way meeting.

The United Arab Emirates was not represented at the meeting even though it was the first Arab country to embrace normalization with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in 2018.

استقبل نائب رئيس الوزراء ووزير الخارجية وشؤون المغتربين @AymanHsafadi وزير الخارجية والمغتربين في #الجمهورية_العربية_السورية الدكتور فيصل المقداد، وذلك لدى وصوله #اجتماع_عمّان_التشاوري الذي تستضيفه #المملكة_الأردنية_الهاشمية. #الأردن #سوريا

🇸🇾 🇯🇴 pic.twitter.com/kCbx9i3fYB
— وزارة الخارجية وشؤون المغتربين الأردنية (@ForeignMinistry) May 1, 2023