A New Friendship in a Changing Middle East

The Middle East is going through one of its biggest shake-ups in decades. Old alliances are breaking down, new ones are forming, and countries that once stayed at arm’s length from each other are suddenly reaching out. Since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government in December 2024, Syria has been at the center of this shift, its new leadership touring the region, looking for friends, money, and security guarantees as it tries to rebuild a country broken by nearly 14 years of war. At the same time, new defense pacts are being signed and countries like Pakistan, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia are drawing closer together than they have been in years.

It’s against this backdrop that Syria’s foreign minister made a trip that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago.

On August 19, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani landed in Islamabad. It may not sound like big news at first but this was the first visit by a Syrian foreign minister to Pakistan in 19 years. The last time it happened was back in 2007, when Walid al-Muallem came to Islamabad, years before Syria’s civil war even began. So, this two-day trip carries real weight, and it says a lot about how the Middle East is reshaping itself.

Why Now?

Syria has gone through a massive change. In December 2024, the government of Bashar al-Assad was overthrown after nearly 14 years of civil war. A new leadership took over, headed by President Ahmed al-Sharaa. Since then, Syria’s new foreign minister has been touring the region, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Jordan, trying to build fresh partnerships and win international support. Pakistan was his next stop.

This wasn’t a routine courtesy call. Al-Shaibani came with a full delegation and held detailed talks with Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Ishaq Dar. He also met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and, importantly, army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, a sign that this relationship isn’t just about diplomacy on paper, but may extend into security and defense cooperation too.

A Friendship That Never Really Broke

Throughout Syria’s brutal civil war, when many countries shut their doors, Pakistan kept its embassy open in Damascus. It also stayed neutral and resisted pressure to take sides. That consistency seems to be paying off now. During the visit, Pakistan reaffirmed its support for Syria’s sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity, language that matters a great deal to a country still trying to stabilize itself after over a decade of war.

Both sides also agreed to set up a Pakistan-Syria Business Council, opening the door to trade and economic cooperation, something both nations badly need. Syria’s economy has been devastated by war, and Pakistan is looking for new markets and partners as it tries to strengthen its own economic position.

The Bigger Picture: New Alliances Forming

This visit didn’t happen in isolation. Just two weeks earlier, on August 7, Pakistan signed a mutual defense pact with Turkey and Saudi Arabia, an agreement stating that an attack on any one of the three countries would be treated as an attack on all of them. Al-Shaibani welcomed this pact during his Islamabad visit, which makes sense; Turkey has close ties with Syria’s new government, and a stronger Pakistan-Turkey-Saudi bloc could offer Damascus more diplomatic cover as it rebuilds.

Then there’s Israel. Just days before the visit, Israeli forces struck an airbase in Syria’s Idlib province, claiming, without proof accepted by Turkey, that Turkish forces were about to move in there. Turkey denied it and condemned the strike. Pakistan’s Foreign Office quickly issued a strong statement too, calling the attack “unprovoked” and warning it could further destabilize the region. This wasn’t just a routine diplomatic statement, it showed where Pakistan stands as tensions rise between Israel and the emerging Turkey-Syria-Gulf alignment.

Pakistan as a Regional Mediator?

Interestingly, al-Shaibani also praised Pakistan’s role in easing tensions between the United States and Iran earlier this year. Journalists in Islamabad asked whether Pakistan might now try to mediate between Syria and Iran, a relationship badly damaged since Tehran backed Assad’s government for years with money and weapons during the war. Al-Shaibani’s answer was blunt: Iran would first need to acknowledge what it did to the Syrian people before any mediation could even be considered. No such mediation proposal, he confirmed, was on the table during this visit.

This response reveals just how deep the wounds from the war still run, and how far Syria’s new government wants to keep its distance from Tehran, even as it opens up to almost everyone else in the region.

What It Means

Taken together, this visit is more than a diplomatic formality. It reflects a broader shift: new alliances are forming around Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan, with Syria’s post-Assad government eager to join in. Pakistan, for its part, gets to strengthen its role as a serious regional player, one that stood by Syria when few others did, and is now positioned to benefit from the country’s reconstruction and realignment.

As the Middle East continues to reshape itself after years of war, this quiet 19-year gap finally closing between Islamabad and Damascus might turn out to be one of the more meaningful signals of where the region is heading next.