Al-Mikdad: “We highly appreciate that South Africa stands with the Syrian people”

Dr. Faisal Al-Mikdad, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, on Thursday met with the South African delegation visiting Syria with the aim of discussing the humanitarian aid that South Africa will provide to Syria. Barry Philip Gilder, South African Ambassador to Damascus attended the meeting.

During the meeting, Minister Al-Mikdad expressed Syria’s high appreciation for South Africa’s standing by the Syrian people during the years of crisis and its provision of humanitarian aid to overcome the challenges and devastating effects of the earthquake.

The Foreign Minister also pointed to the Syrians’ pride in their historical relations with South Africa and in the existing cooperation between the two countries at various stages and at several levels.

Al-Mikdad demonstrated the impact of the terrorist war on Syria and the destruction caused by terrorist groups in weakening national capabilities.

The Minister also stressed the impacts of the inhumane and immoral unilateral coercive measures imposed on Syria and which obstructed the arrival of humanitarian aid and prevented the country from restoring its capabilities and securing the necessities to alleviate the suffering of the Syrian people due to the Western blockade and the catastrophic effects of the earthquake.

In turn, Ambassador Gilder indicated that his country does not believe in the sanctions imposed on Syria, reiterating South Africa’s firm position in supporting Syria in the face of terrorism, and in strengthening coordination with the relevant Syrian authorities in order to provide the required humanitarian aid that the Syrian people need as quickly as possible, especially after the earthquake disaster.

NR