President Bashar Al-Assad on Saturday received China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi and the accompanying delegation. Talks dealt with the deep-rooted historical ties between Syria and China and with opening new and wider prospects of cooperation in all fields to serve the interests of the peoples of the two countries.

"China is a strong country with an important position in the international arena and Syria is looking forward to expanding fields of cooperation with it at various levels based on China's strong presence and ethical policies that serve most countries and peoples of the world," President Al-Assad said.

President Bashar Al-Assad was sworn in on Saturday as president of the Syrian Arab Republic before Speaker of the People’s Assembly and MPs and in the presence of political, party, religious, cultural, sport and artistic figures, journalists and families of the martyrs and the inured.

 Following the oath taking ceremony, President Al-Assad delivered a speech in which he stressed that the Syrian people’s awareness and national belongingness have proved that people’s determination to defend their rights is unrelenting despite colonialists’ schemes.

The Syrian people, with their national unity, have fired the bullet of mercy on the schemes that targeted the homeland, he added.

"In the early stage of the war on Syria, enemies’ bet was on our fear of terrorism. Today, their bet is on turning the Syrian citizens into mercenaries, but the result was shocking," President Al-Assad said, affirming that the Syrians inside the homeland are becoming stronger and more challenging, while those who deserted the homeland and were planned to be used against their country have turned into tools that offer services to the enemies when they need.

Today, July 17th, 2021, President Bashar Al-Assad is to be sworn in as President of the Syrian Arab Republic for the coming seven years.

The oath taking ceremony and President Al-Assad speech will be broadcast on national media outlets, on the presidency platforms and on social media.

The president will deliver a strategic speech that draws up the features of Syria's internal and foreign policy in the years to come, the Presidential Political and Media Advisor, Dr. Bouthaina Shaaban wrote on her facebook page on Friday.

The speech will highlight the policy's general strategic lines in the political, economic and military fields.

It will deal with the general policy, its features, visions and goals, and with the way to confront the current circumstances.

President Al-Assad will clarify a systematic work plan that has started several years ago and that deals with the political and military aspects, reforms, fighting corruption, improving living conditions, recovering the industry, restoring the agricultural ability and empowering investment.