DAMASCUS, Syria – A landmark diplomatic shift is unfolding in the Middle East, as Syrian state media announced Sunday that French President Emmanuel Macron will make an upcoming visit to Syria — the first trip to the war-torn nation by a Western head of state since former President Bashar Assad was ousted from power in 2024.
The announcement, carried by Syria’s official SANA news agency and sourced from President Ahmad al-Sharaa’s office, did not release a specific date or full itinerary for the visit. The timing also comes amid Macron’s already scheduled regional travel: he is set to attend a NATO summit taking place in Ankara, Turkey, on Tuesday and Wednesday this week.
This upcoming trip follows a high-profile meeting between the two leaders in Paris just months earlier, in May 2025. During that summit, Macron hosted al-Sharaa — the former Islamist leader who took control of Damascus after Assad’s departure — and made a key commitment: he would lead diplomatic efforts to push the European Union and United States to roll back the harsh, long-running sanctions that have crippled Syria’s economy for years. To date, the majority of those sanctions have already been lifted.
Notably, the Élysée Palace, the official residence and workplace of the French president, offered no comment on the planned trip when reached by reporters on Sunday.
According to SANA’s report, Macron will not travel alone: he will be joined by a delegation of private investors and senior representatives from major French companies, signaling a push to open economic opportunities for Syria as it begins the long process of recovery.
Syria’s road to stability remains steep, however. The country’s 14-year armed conflict has left an indelible mark: it has killed nearly half a million people, forced millions more to flee their homes as displaced persons or refugees, and reduced critical national infrastructure to ruins. While a number of foreign governments and private business groups have already made major investment pledges to support recovery, official estimates show Syria requires hundreds of billions of dollars to fully rebuild its economy and public services, and pull millions of Syrian citizens out of deep poverty.