The League of Arab States confirmed on Sunday that Arab foreign ministers had agreed to restore Syria to its place in the league.

In an exclusive statement to Al-Hurrah, Arab League spokesman Jamal Rushdie said Arab foreign ministers meeting in the Egyptian capital Cairo on Sunday decided to lift the freeze on Syria’s Arab League membership.

Following an emergency meeting of foreign ministers at its headquarters in Cairo on Sunday, the Arab League Council announced in a statement that representatives representing the Syrian regime would once again participate in its meetings.

The statement said, “As of May 7, 2023, it has been decided to resume the participation of representatives of the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic in the meetings of the Council of the League of Arab States and all its related bodies and agencies.”

For its part, the Syrian Foreign Ministry on Sunday stressed the importance of joint cooperation and dialogue between Arab countries, after receiving the Arab League’s decision to restore Damascus to its seat after suspending its activities for more than 11 years. Conflict in the country.

In a statement carried by the regime’s news agency (SANA), the Foreign Ministry said, “Syria follows the positive trends and interactions currently taking place in the Arab region. In this context, Syria received the League’s decision with enthusiasm.”

“Syria, a founding member of the League of Arab States, renews its continued position on the need to strengthen joint Arab action and cooperation,” he added, adding that the next step “requires an effective and constructive Arab approach… dialogue, mutual respect and the common interests of the Arab world.” “

The Syrian file has recently become the focus of many meetings.

On Monday, the foreign ministers of Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Egypt held a consultative meeting in the Jordanian capital Amman, where the ministers discussed ways to return Syrian refugees from neighboring countries and the Syrian government to extend its control over its lands.

In mid-April, a meeting of Gulf Cooperation Council countries was held in Jeddah, attended by Egypt, Iraq and Jordan, to discuss Syria’s return to the Arab League.

Days after the Jeddah meeting, the Saudi foreign minister visited Damascus, in the first official Saudi visit to Syria since the split between the two countries with the start of the conflict in Syria 12 years ago.

Several Arab countries, led by Saudi Arabia, closed their embassies and withdrew their embassies from Syria in 2011 in protest at the Syrian regime’s handling of a “popular uprising” that escalated into a bloody conflict in Saudi Arabia and other Arab states. According to AFP, supported Syrian opposition groups.

The League of Arab States suspended Syria’s membership in November 2011.

However, in the past two years, there have been signs of rapprochement between Damascus and several capitals, including Abu Dhabi, which restored diplomatic ties, and Riyadh, which negotiated with Damascus on resuming diplomatic services between the two countries.