Damascus, Syria – Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa arrived in the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, on Saturday for a working visit leading an official government delegation.
According to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), Al-Sharaa met with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev at the Zughulba Palace in Baku to discuss bilateral cooperation.
Back on April 18, Middle East Eye reported, citing informed sources, that President Al-Sharaa and President Aliyev discussed opportunities for developing Syria’s oil and gas sector during a meeting on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomatic Forum in Turkey.
One source said the Syrian government is keen to secure technical support from Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR to help develop oil and gas fields in northeastern Syria.
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Another source familiar with the Syrian government’s thinking told Middle East Eye that Damascus aims to balance all regional actors and that involving Azerbaijan and Turkey in Syria’s energy sector could help reassure Israel about Syria’s transitional government.
A Turkish official also noted that closer ties between Syria and Azerbaijan might ease Israeli concerns about what some Israeli officials have described as a “terrorist” transitional authority in Damascus.
In January, SOCAR Turkey’s CEO expressed the company’s willingness to participate in Syria’s energy sector if conditions allow.
Earlier in May, President Al-Sharaa hosted an Azerbaijani delegation headed by Deputy Prime Minister Samir Sharifov in Damascus. According to SANA, Al-Sharaa received Sharifov and his delegation at the People’s Palace, and Syria’s Minister of Economy and Industry, Mohammad Nidal Al-Shaar, also held talks with the Azerbaijani officials at the ministry’s headquarters.
