Qatar, right from the beginning, has been very firm and consistent in its position of offering full support for the Syrian people, said His Excellency the Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dr Mohamed bin Abdulaziz bin Saleh al-Khulaifi.
“Past 14 years, we haven’t changed our position. We have been firm, believing strongly that this is the right path for the Syrians to restore their full rights, for a country that is sovereign, prosperous, and providing an opportunity for the people to live a better life,” said Dr al-Khulaifi.
Dr al-Khulaifi was speaking at a panel discussion titled ‘The New Syria One Year On: Assessing Progress, Opportunity & Challenges’ at Doha Forum 2025.
The minister said Qatar has been very much engaging with Syria since day one of the issue and last year, during the Doha Forum while discussing the Syrian case, the movements for change in the country took place on the ground.
“Things have moved so quickly. Our policy since day one was never to shy out but engage by talking to our brothers who are there on the ground. We stretched our hands to support the Syrian people and the Syrian government. And we have been very consistent in terms of that help,” he said.
Dr al-Khulaifi said that several high profile institutions including Education Above All Foundation have come forward to support the Syrian people.
“All of them have made outreach engagements over there and they have involved in several activities and projects within the Syrian government. I think, in terms of assessing the last 12 months of Qatar and Syrian partnership, it has never been stronger,” he added.
The minister noted that both Qatar and Syria are working so close and have been engaged in different areas such as the financial, energy sectors among others. “We have been very much supporting the Syrian cause because we strongly believe in it. We think this is the right pathway, and this is what the Syrian people deserve,” he stressed. According to Dr al-Khulaifi, the strategy is to continue Qatar’s direct engagement with Syria at different levels.
“In the past 12 months we were focusing on the main infrastructure within the country, aviation, finance, energy and others. The projects that we have accomplished so far are very pleasing. However, it is still not enough,” said the minister.
He said that there is still more potential for Syria to prosper in other areas and pointed out that the openness shown by the new Syrian government to international investors to join in and play a role in the future of Syria, will put the country in a unique place in the future.
Dr al-Khulaifi noted that empowering Syria focusing on the security element is something that is extremely important. “We will continue our engagement with the Syrian government on that angle and other angles as well, and also with our direct co-ordination at the international level,” he said.
“I believe in the upcoming months it will be very critical for us to engage further, to work closely with the Syrian government to combat many of those challenges, and especially the security threats that the Syrians are facing. And, we had a very thorough and transparent engagement with the Syrian government at that point,” added the minister.