Numbers and Figures Behind The New Syrian-Turkish Relationship
Today's meeting between presidents Ahmad al-Shar'a and Recep Erdogan cemented the new partnership, but Syrian-Turkish ties have deepened quickly in the past two months
Since the fall of the Assad regime, Turkey has been the most stalwart ally to the new transitional government in Damascus. As of today, the new Syrian government has had 278 engagements with various countries since December 8, 2024 (based on publicly released information, it is plausible that other engagements have occurred at the private-level, but I of course would have no access to such information). These have included 44 countries (plus 3 more if you include the European Union, Gulf Cooperation Council, and Arab League as related entities). Above all, Turkey has been involved in 74 of these engagements, which equates to almost 27% of all engagements. To put this in perspective, the country that has the second-highest engagement-rate with Syria is Saudi Arabia and so far it has only amounted to 27 engagements. Highlighting how much more activity Turkey has been doing on the ground within Syria.
Furthermore, unlike most other countries that have primarily only engaged with Syria in Damascus, the Turkish government has set-up meetings in various locales of Syria, including Aleppo (10), Azaz (1), Daraya (3), Deir al-Zour (1), Hama (1), Homs (1), Idlib (5), and Latakia (1). Besides the larger officials from each country (presidents al-Shar’a and Erdogan, FMs Asaad al-Shaibani and Hakan Fidan, and intel chiefs Anas Khattab and Ibrahim Kalin), the following entities/officials from each country have engaged in various meetings over the past two months:
Syria: Defense Minister Major General Marhaf Abu Qasra, Prime Minister Muhammad al-Basir, Aleppan notable Mohammed Mustat, Aleppo Chamber of Commerce, Minister of Economy Basil Abdul Aziz Abdul Hanan, Damascus Chamber of Commerce, Deputy Director of Latakia Electricity Iyad Ibrahim, Minister of Health Dr. Mahar al-Shar’a, Minister of Electricity, Eng. Omar Shaqrouq, Director of the General Corporation for Electricity Generation Eng. Omar Brijawi, Director of the General Establishment for Electricity Transmission and Distribution Eng. Khaled Abu Day, Minister of Agriculture Mohammad al-Ahmad, General Authority of Land Borders and Sea Ports, Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Fadi al-Qassem, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Prof. Dr. Abdel Moneim Abdel Hafez, Governor of Damascus Maher Mohammed Marwan, Syrian Arab Red Crescent, Minister of Justice, Judge Shadi al-Waisi, Governor of Aleppo Eng. Azzam al-Gharib, Aleppo City Council, Chairman of the Syrian Civil Aviation and Air Transport Authority Ashhad al-Salibi, Minister of Information Mohammad al-Omar, Patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church Ignatius II. Efram, Minister of Communications and Information Technology Hussein al-Masry, Homs Chamber of Commerce, Damascus University Rector Osama El-Cebban, Syrian Civil Defense, Idlib Governor Mohammed Abdul Rahman, Director of Social Affairs and Labor in Idlib Firas Kardoush, Deputy Foreign Minister Ahmed Duhan, Hama Governor Abdul Rahman al-Sahyan, Minister of Internal Trade and Consumer Protection Maher Khalil, Governor of Rif Dimashq Amer al-Sheikh, Minister of Interior Ali Keda, Daraya District Administration, Ministry of Defense Chief of Staff Major General Ali al-Naasan, Director of Aleppo Endowments Sheikh Omar Mohammed Akash, Director of the Political Affairs Department in Aleppo Saad Naasa, and the Assyrian Democratic Organization.
Turkey: Turkish Ambassador Burhan Koroglu, AKP Head of Foreign Relations Committee Abdul Rahman Kozum, “Turkish economic delegation,” MÜSİAD, Turkish Health Minister Kemal Memişoğlu, Turkish Minister of Transport Abdulkadir Uraloglu, Turkish Ministry of Energy delegation, Turkish Deputy Minister of Agriculture, al-Bashir Organization, member of the Presidential Committee for Social Policy Affairs in Turkey Dr. Ibrahim Altan, Turkish Deputy Minister of Health Hussein Kursat Kirbiyik, Turkish Red Crescent, lawyers Gulden Sonmez and Cihad Gokdemir, Turkish Airlines, Deputy Minister of Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change Omer Bulut, Deputy Minister of Environment and Municipalities, Governor of Hatay, Head of the Communications Department of the Turkish Presidency Fahrettin Altun, IHH, Turkish delegation from Gaziantep University, President of the Istanbul Bar Association, Niazi Paksoy, “Turkish businessmen,” Coordinator of the Program Office at the Turkish TIKA Foundation in Damascus, Turkish Consul General in Aleppo Hakan Cengiz, Deputy Consul General in Aleppo Tuncay Dogan, “owners of private commercial establishments in Konya,” Vice President of the AKP Zafer Sirkaya, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nuh Yılmaz, Deputy Minister of Trade Mustafa Tuzcu, Mayor of Sakarya Metropolitan Municipality Youssef Alamdar, delegation from Turkish Ministry of Defense, and Deputy Head of Turkish Religious Affairs Dr. Selim Arkoun.
All of this highlights that the relationship is very deep and not surface-level in a short period of time. It is at not only ministerial levels, but also in governorates, and cities. As well as beyond only the political realm, but getting into business and humanitarian spaces as well. This of course has only occurred in a little less than two months. No doubt these relationships will grow deeper and deeper, especially in light of al-Shar’a and Erdogan officially meeting in person now.