India, Syria review bilateral ties

Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan and the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of the Arab Republic of Syria Fayssal Mekdad held a virtual meeting, which provided an opportunity to comprehensively review the bilateral relations and chart a roadmap for further cooperation in areas of mutual interest.

Highlights of the meeting

India has conveyed to Syria that it hopes to see a comprehensive and peaceful resolution of the decade-long Syrian conflict through a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned dialogue, involving all parties.

Syria has been deeply appreciative of India’s unwavering support and continued developmental assistance during its crisis years, and has extended unconditional support to India’s candidatures for various multilateral and international organisations.

Mekdad thanked the Indian government for the timely gift of 10 metric tonnes of medicines in July 2020 to help Syria in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic as also for the generous provision of 1,000 scholarships to Syrians under the Study in India Programme, besides 90 slots under Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) and 25 slots under ICCR General Scholarship Scheme given annually. 

Both sides agreed to continue close consultations and cooperation on issues of mutual interest both bilaterally and at multilateral and international fora.

India-Syria relations

India and Syria enjoy friendly political relations based on historic and civilisational links. There have been regular bilateral exchanges at the highest levels since the establishment of diplomatic ties.

Since the conflict erupted in March 2011, Syria has witnessed unprecedented devastation and displacement. More than five million Syrians have fled the country and six million are internally displaced. The Indian government has provided $12 million in humanitarian assistance to Syria since the conflict broke out in 2011. India took its principled stand in resolving the conflict in a non-military and through an inclusive Syrian-led political process, which has been much appreciated by the Syrian government and people alike. India continued to maintain its embassy even during the peak of the crisis.  

The size of the Indian community in Syria has shrunk significantly due to the crisis. At present, the number of Indians in Syria is less than 150, most being skilled workers. 

As many as 483 Syrians had benefited from an artificial limb fitment camp organised by the ministry of external affairs in Damascus in January 2020 in partnership with the Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti (BVMSS), Jaipur.

India-Syria Centre for Excellence in IT, which was set up at Damascus in December 2010 but could not be operationalised due to security concerns, has now been upgraded to a NextGen Center for Excellence in IT by concluding an MoU between the two countries on October 1, 2019. 

The 2x200 MW Tishreen Thermal Power Plant Extension project, for which a line of credit of $240 million was extended to Syria in 2010 for part-financing (52 per cent), was halted by the BHEL due to the crisis in Syria. With improvement in the security situation, the work on the project has resumed since October 2019. 

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