Bahrain appoints its first ambassador to Syria in nearly 10 years

The Kingdom of Bahrain has appointed its first ambassador to Syria since it restore relations after cutting them off about ten years ago due to the outbreak of the conflict in Syria, the Bahrain News Agency (BNA) reported.

King of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa on Thursday issued a decree appointing Waheed Mubarak Sayyar to head the diplomatic mission in Damascus, with the title of ‘Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary’.

With this, Bahrain becomes the third Gulf country to restore relations with Syria. Oman had appointed an ambassador to Damascus in 2020, and on November 2021, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which reopened its mission to Damascus in late 2018, sent its foreign minister to Damascus where he met President Bashar al-Assad.

Most of the Arab countries have reduced their diplomatic representation or closed their diplomatic missions in Damascus after the Syrian government used force to quell the 2011 protests that turned into a civil war.