Syria prepares for key national conference to shape post-Assad future

High-ranking Ukrainian delegation also visits Damascus as foreign governments seek engagement with new leadership

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and a delegation of officials from the country meet Ahmad Al Shara in Damascus. AFP

Syria is gearing up for a critical national conference this week, bringing together representatives from its diverse social and political landscape to shape its future under the new rebel-led administration.

The conference's announcement followed statements by Syria's de facto leader, Ahmad Al Shara, who said elections in Syria could take up to four years, while drafting a new constitution may take three years.

Mohammad Khaled, a political affairs representative of the new administration led by Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS), told The National that the national dialogue conference will be held in Damascus on January 4 and 5. It will include “more than 1,000 people participating from every Syrian province” across “the spectrum of Syrian society and its sects”, he said. More details will emerge with the formation of a preparatory committee within 24 hours, Mr Khaled added.

Local media reported that 1,200 Syrians would attend the event in their personal capacities rather than as representatives of any political entity. Additionally, 70 to 100 individuals from each governorate, representing all segments of society – including women and youth – will be invited to participate.

The conference could be the first pan-national gathering of Syria's various political and sectarian groups following 13 years of civil war. It will also serve as a critical test of whether the new regime can fulfil its promise to unite the country in the post-Assad era.

Mr Khaled said participants at the conference would discuss “a series of decisions related to the interim period of the next three to four years”, such as “establishing a constitutional committee, drafting a constitutional declaration and putting it up for popular referendum”.

HTS is made up mainly of groups from the extremist organisation Jabhat Al Nusra, which was linked to Al Qaeda. It broke those ties with Al Qaeda in 2016 and rebranded itself as Hayat Tahrir Al Sham, after a purge undertaken by the group's leader Mr Al Shara, formerly known by the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed Al Jawlani.

Local media said the preparatory committee for the conference should be announced soon. Invitations will be sent shortly, with a special effort made to include Syrian expatriates – politicians, civil society representatives, experts, and human rights activists – invited in their personal capacities.

The organisers expect the conference to take a series of decisions crucial to defining the future identity of Syria. Among these are the dissolution of the Baath Party and reconstitution of parliament, in addition to the reconstruction of all military and security formations.

Syria's de facto leader Ahmad Al Shara and Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan Al Shibani meet a Ukrainian delegation in Damascus. Reuters

Another expected outcome is forming a committee composed of experts to draft the country’s new constitution. This committee will “ensure that Syria's rich diversity is considered”. An advisory body could be established to support an interim president and assist the executive branch in fulfilling its duties.

The conference was announced along with a series of new appointments to the interim government, the latest being Maysaa Sabine to the role of central bank chief. Ms Sabine was formerly the deputy head of the bank under the previous regime of Bashar Al Assad and will be the first woman to head the institution in its more than 70-year history.

The UN and countries including the US have designated HTS as a terrorist organisation. Mr Al Shara previously participated in an Iraqi insurgency against the US as a member of a group that eventually became ISIS. He then led the Syrian branch of Al Qaeda in 2011, in the early years of the civil war. Despite this, western and regional officials have engaged with the new leadership, evaluating their plans and commitments.

Local media reported that a high-ranking Ukrainian delegation visited Damascus on Monday to meet Mr Al Shara. This follows President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's recent directive to his Foreign Ministry to establish contact with the new Syrian authorities.

Kuwait's Foreign Minister Abdullah Ali Al Yahya also visited Damascus on Monday along with Jassim Mohammed Al Badawi, Secretary General of the Gulf Co-operation Council, Kuwait's Foreign Ministry said. It follows a visit a day earlier by Azerbaijan's deputy foreign minister Yalchin Rafiyev, who met Assad Hassan Al Shibani, the Foreign Minister of Syria's transitional government. Mr Rafiyev offered his country’s support for Syria's rebuilding efforts.