Morocco-Syria. Key takeaways from the Syrian Foreign Minister’s press briefing with Nasser Bourita

As reported by Médias24 the previous day, Syrian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Assaad el-Chibani visited Morocco on Thursday, May 14, 2026. On this occasion, he and his Moroccan counterpart, Nasser Bourita, held a press conference at the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Rabat, attended by representatives of the national press.

What stood out from the outset, after listening to the two diplomats, is that Morocco-Syria relations remain in a phase of cautious normalization. These ties had been severed for more than thirteen years, until the fall of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December 2024. In May 2025, King Mohammed VI himself announced, in a speech read on his behalf by Nasser Bourita at the 34th Arab Summit in Baghdad, the reopening of Morocco’s embassy in Damascus.

A still cautious resumption

For its part, Syria’s new leadership, headed since January 2025 by President Ahmed al-Charaa, has only now reactivated its diplomatic representation in Morocco, on the occasion of Assaad el-Chibani’s visit. For the Syrian minister, this reflects "the political will of the Syrian Arab Republic towards the Kingdom of Morocco."

"I believe that our exchange today showed that there are many points of convergence between us, but also many shared concerns and challenges," el-Chibani said, explaining that Damascus now intends to "develop this relationship at all levels."

As for announcements, the Syrian official revealed the forthcoming launch of a Business Council, with a view to "benefiting from Morocco’s successful experience in many sectors." More broadly, he said that he and Nasser Bourita had "agreed on an overall roadmap for relations between the two countries, beginning with the political track at the level of the two ministries, before extending to the economic, educational and commercial fields."

The mechanisms of a relationship to be rebuilt

Nasser Bourita, for his part, was more expansive. First emphasizing the "historic" nature of Assaad el-Chibani’s visit, his first ever to Morocco, and recalling that "the Kingdom of Morocco, under the leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, has always been clear in its support for the Syrian people’s aspirations for freedom and dignity," the minister initially focused on the activation of the legal and institutional mechanisms governing the bilateral relationship.

"We agreed to update the legal framework, which is certainly an advanced one, but is no longer able today to keep pace with the ambition of bilateral relations in the various fields."

Another issue on the table was cooperation mechanisms. In this regard, according to Nasser Bourita, a joint commission at the level of the foreign ministers will be established, "as a mechanism for coordination and for advancing the bilateral relationship," alongside a political consultation mechanism and a consular commission "to address issues related to the presence of Moroccans in Syria and of our Syrian brothers in their second country, the Kingdom of Morocco." "The human element has always been a fundamental component of our bilateral relations," Bourita said in this regard, while also formalizing Rabat’s decision to grant 100 annual scholarships to Syrian students, covering both academic education and vocational training.

Last but not least, Nasser Bourita dwelt on the instructions given by King Mohammed VI to support Ahmed al-Charaa’s vision for development and stability in Syria, drawing on the experience led by the Sovereign himself in Morocco. In his opening remarks, the minister had already offered extensive congratulations to "Syria, the Syrian people and the Syrian leadership" for the achievements made over the past seventeen months, citing "a political transition process likely to help bring Syrians together, create stability in Syria and establish the conditions for development in the country." He also highlighted "the measures taken in the human rights, legal, political, economic and security fields, which, in our view, contribute to Syria’s stability, to bringing the Syrian people together and to helping Syria emerge from the dark period it experienced for many long years."

As for concrete areas of cooperation, Nasser Bourita was exhaustive, mentioning training, administrative management, transitional justice, economic cooperation, food security, as well as sectoral policies and strategies such as agriculture, water, fisheries and tourism. In this regard, he indicated that sectoral visits by the ministers concerned are planned.

But Nasser Bourita also placed responsibility on the embassies, which he said would be called upon to play "an essential role in supporting this phase." "God willing, I will soon travel to Damascus for the opening of Morocco’s embassy there, as a strong signal of the return of this relationship to its natural course, and of the will to support His Excellency the President’s vision for a new Syria, one that serves the stability and development of its people, and also supports the stability and development of its immediate and broader regional environment."

The Sahara: absent from the press conference, present in the statement

On the Sahara, however, not a word was spoken during the press conference. Yet the joint statement "affirmed [Syria’s] full respect for the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Morocco and its sovereignty over all its territory," while also stating "that the Syrian Arab Republic welcomes and supports Security Council Resolution 2797, which constitutes a turning point in the process of seeking a lasting political solution to this regional dispute." A first step towards a lasting shift in Syria’s position on Morocco’s national cause?