The Syrian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates , Faisal Mekdad, began today (Monday) an official three-day working visit to Tunisia , which is the first for a high-ranking Syrian official since relations between the two countries were severed in 2012.

The Tunisian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a brief statement published this evening on its official Facebook page that Tunisian Foreign Minister Nabil Ammar "received today Faisal Mekdad, the Syrian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, who is on a working visit to our country during the period from 17 to 19 April 2023." ".

Faisal Al-Miqdad arrived this evening in Tunis from the Algerian capital, his second stop as part of an official working visit aimed at strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries. He was received at Tunis-Carthage International Airport by his Tunisian counterpart, Nabil Ammar, and a number of senior officials in the Tunisian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

During this visit, the Syrian foreign minister will meet "within the framework of keenness to restore bilateral relations between Syria and Tunisia," according to a previous statement by the Tunisian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tunisian President Kais Saied, during which he will also hold talks with his Tunisian counterpart, Nabil Ammar.

Tunisian Parliament Speaker Ibrahim Bouderbala welcomed this visit, as he said in a statement broadcast earlier today by the local Tunisian radio station, Shams FM, that "the visit of Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad to Tunisia is a positive step."

He stressed that Syria is one of the founding Arab countries of the League of Arab States, and it is a country that confronts Israel and cannot be outside the Arab ranks.

Faisal al-Miqdad's visit to Tunisia, which is part of a tour that also included visits to Saudi Arabia and Algeria, comes amid extensive political and diplomatic movements in preparation for Syria's return to the Arab embrace.

Tunisia severed its diplomatic relations with Syria in February of 2012 by a decision of former President Mohamed Moncef Marzouki, which sparked at that time widespread political controversy in the country.