DAMASCUS, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) -- Qatar officially reopened its embassy in the Syrian capital Damascus on Saturday, raising its national flag over the building for the first time in 13 years.

 

In the upscale Abu Rummaneh neighborhood of Damascus, workers were seen cleaning the embassy compound and removing graffiti from its walls.

 

The embassy's reopening comes amid a wave of regional and Western representatives visiting Syria to meet the country's new de-facto leadership following the fall of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government on Dec. 8.

 

It also comes almost a week after a Qatari delegation visited Damascus to prepare for the resumption of the Qatari diplomatic mission, which was closed in 2011 following the outbreak of the Syrian civil war.

 

The delegation met with representatives of Syria's transitional government and reaffirmed Qatar's commitment to supporting the Syrian people in their pursuit of security, peace, development, and prosperity, Qatari Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Majed Al Ansari said.

 

The meeting also discussed ways to enhance the flow of Qatari humanitarian aid into Syria and assessed the urgent needs of the Syrian population during this critical phase, Al Ansari noted.

 

Qatar is the second country, after Türkiye, to formally resume diplomatic operations in the Syrian capital since Assad's downfall.