News - Middle East: India’s Minister of State for External Affairs Vellamvelly Muraleedharan has paid an official visit to Syria, a first by an Indian minister in several years, in an apparent sign of New Delhi engaging with the government of President Bashar al-Assad.

Muraleedharan arrived in the Syrian capital, Damascus, on Wednesday for a two-day visit. It came on the heels of Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal al-Mekdad's visit in 2022 to New Delhi, where he held talks with Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.

Muraleedharan's trip is the first by a high-profile Indian diplomat in seven years and comes after Syria’s return to the Arab League more than a decade after its membership was suspended by the 22-member regional organization. Arab government representatives in Cairo voted on May 7 to return Syria to the League after a 12-year suspension.

Source: Press TV