Syrian transitional President Ahmed al-Sharaa has continued to make his mark on his country’s history with his extraordinary personal journey. A former jihadist and rebel leader, who ended the al-Assad clan’s half-century rule on December 8, 2024, al-Sharaa is set to become the first Syrian president to ever visit the White House since Syria’s independence in 1946. He will be received by United States President Donald Trump for a “historic visit,” scheduled “for the first week of November,” Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani said, speaking at the Manama Dialogue in Bahrain on Sunday, November 2. The meeting will take place on November 10, said US Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack the day before in an announcement made on the sidelines of the Manama Dialogue, the annual security conference held by the International Institute for Strategic Studies in Bahrain’s capital.

“There will be many issues on the table, starting with the lifting of sanctions and opening of a new chapter [in relations] between the United States and Syria (…) as well as assistance in the fight against the Islamic State group” (IS), al-Shibani said. “Today, we are fighting [IS], and every effort in this direction requires international support,” he added.

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