DAMASCUS, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- Syria's Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) leader, Ahmad al-Shara, held talks on Monday with visiting Qatari Minister of State at the Foreign Ministry Mohammed bin Abdulaziz al-Khulaifi, with both sides pledging to forge a broad strategic partnership and accelerate Syria's recovery.

During the meeting, al-Shara hailed Qatar's "honorable stance toward the Syrian people" and emphasized Damascus' intention to tap into Qatari expertise across various fields.

"We plan to begin extensive strategic cooperation with Qatar in the coming period," he said, adding that the Gulf nation would play an "effective and significant" role in Syria's future. He also extended an invitation to the Emir of Qatar to visit Syria.

Al-Khulaifi, for his part, underscored Doha's commitment to supporting Syrians during their transition and stressed that "the Syrian people alone have the right to determine their destiny without any external guardianship."

He affirmed that "Qatar will remain by the side of our Syrian brothers, now more than ever."

The visit by the Qatari delegation headed by al-Khulaifi marks the first of its kind in 13 years, according to Qatar's Foreign Ministry.

Meanwhile, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed bin Mohammed Al Ansari said on social media platform X that the delegation traveled to Damascus "on board the first Qatar Airways plane to land at a Syrian airport" since the fall of Bashar Al-Assad's government.

Qatar officially reopened its embassy in the Syrian capital Damascus on Saturday, which was closed in 2011 following the outbreak of anti-government protests in Syria. Enditem

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