DAMASCUS, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- Syria's interim Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani said here Saturday that Syria seeks to regain its seat in the Arab League (AL), and called for more regional support for the country's reconstruction.

Al-Shibani, together with Syria's de facto leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, met with a visiting AL delegation headed by AL Assistant Secretary-General Hossam Zaki earlier in the day, after which the Syrian minister and Zaki held a joint news conference, the Syrian Foreign Ministry said in a series of posts on social media platform X, without disclosing details of the meeting.

According to the posts, al-Shibani told the news conference that he hopes Syria would soon "take its rightful seat" in the AL, enabling the "true voice of the Syrian people" to be heard.

He called on Arab states to invest in Syria's energy and infrastructure development, pledging to provide all necessary facilities to bolster the national economy and improve living standards, showed the posts.

"We aim to create the right conditions for a dignified return of every Syrian, and we're working on a national conference inclusive of all segments of our population," he said, adding that Syria would welcome "rapid engagement" from Arab partners.

For his part, Zaki told the news conference that the delegation had a "comprehensive and candid dialogue" with al-Sharaa, and that the AL's member states "are keenly interested in Syria's stability and future," according to the posts.

Syria is "pivotal" to the regional security, he said, adding that sanctions imposed on Syria "no longer have justification."

The Cairo-based AL re-admitted Syria in May 2023 after shunning it for 12 years.

Syria's change of government last month has spurred a flurry of diplomatic activity. Turkish and Qatari delegations have visited Damascus, while al-Shibani embarked on trips to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan. These efforts aim to rebuild ties with regional powers and advocate for the lifting of Western sanctions. Enditem

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