STORY: Syria seeks to regain AL seat, urges regional support for reconstruction
SHOOTING TIME: Jan 18, 2025
DATELINE: Jan 19, 2025
LENGTH: 0:01:52
LOCATION: Damascus
CATEGORY: POLITICS

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the meeting
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Arabic): ASAAD HASSAN AL-SHIBANI, Syria's interim Foreign Minister
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (Arabic): ASAAD HASSAN AL-SHIBANI, Syria's interim Foreign Minister
4. SOUNDBITE 3 (Arabic): HOSSAM ZAKI, AL Assistant Secretary-General

STORYLINE:

Syria's interim Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani said Saturday that Syria seeks to regain its seat in the Arab League (AL), and called for more regional support for the country's reconstruction.
  
Al-Shibani, together with Syria's de facto leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, met with a visiting AL delegation headed by AL Assistant Secretary-General Hossam Zaki earlier in the day, after which the Syrian minister and Zaki held a joint news conference, the Syrian Foreign Ministry said in a series of posts on social media platform X, without disclosing details of the meeting.
   
According to the posts, al-Shibani told the news conference that he hopes Syria would soon "take its rightful seat" in the AL, enabling the "true voice of the Syrian people" to be heard.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Arabic): ASAAD HASSAN AL-SHIBANI, Syria's interim Foreign Minister
"We look forward to regaining Syria's seat in the Arab League and its participation in the next Arab summit, where the true voice of the Syrian people will be heard."

He called on Arab states to invest in Syria's energy and infrastructure development, pledging to provide all necessary facilities to bolster the national economy and improve living standards, showed the posts.
   
SOUNDBITE 2 (Arabic): ASAAD HASSAN AL-SHIBANI, Syria's interim Foreign Minister
"We call on our Arab brothers and all member states of the Arab League to contribute to Syria's reconstruction and development efforts, especially in the fields of energy and infrastructure. We affirm our readiness to provide every possible facility to open the door for investment, thereby bolstering the national economy, improving the living conditions of the Syrian people, and achieving the sustainable development they deserve."
   
For his part, Zaki told the news conference that the delegation had a "comprehensive and candid dialogue" with al-Sharaa, and that the AL's member states "are keenly interested in Syria's stability and future," according to the posts.

SOUNDBITE 3 (Arabic): HOSSAM ZAKI, AL Assistant Secretary-General
"Syria is a large, pivotal Arab country. What happens there does not only concern its people, but all Arabs, because Syria and the events taking place within it affect the Arab situation, Arab national security, and the circumstances in neighboring Arab countries as well. Therefore, there is significant interest from Arabs and Arab countries, members of the Arab League, in what is happening in Syria."
   
The Cairo-based AL re-admitted Syria in May 2023 after shunning it for 12 years.
   
Syria's change of government last month has spurred a flurry of diplomatic activity. Turkish and Qatari delegations have visited Damascus, while al-Shibani embarked on trips to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan. These efforts aim to rebuild ties with regional powers and advocate for the lifting of Western sanctions.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Damascus.
(XHTV)