US President Donald Trump will host his Syrian counterpart Ahmad al-Sharaa at the White House in Washington likely on November 10, said an official on Saturday (local time). This will be the first-ever visit by a Syrian president to the White House.
Notably, the development comes after al-Sharaa addressed the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Session in New York in September this year.
79-year-old Trump had first met al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia in May this year. It was the first meeting between the leaders of the two countries in nearly 25 years, as Syria continues to face isolation at the global stage. In 2000, former Syrian premier Hafez Assad had met ex-American President Bill Clinton in Geneva.
al-Sharaa had ties with al-Qaida and was imprisoned by US troops
43-year-old al-Sharaa, who became Syria's president after the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime, is a Saudi Arabian born who once served in the al-Qaeda in Iraq. He fought for nearly three years from 2003 in the Iraqi insurgency, but was captured by the US forces in 2006. He was in their custody till 2011. It must be noted that he even had a USD 10 million US bounty on his head once.
Once released by the US forces, al-Sharaa joined the Syrian revolution against al-Assad regime. In 2012, he formed the al-Nusra Front with assistance from al-Qaeda in a bid topple the al-Assad regime, but cut ties with the terror group in 2016 to seek international recognition, particularly from the US-led West. From 2017 to January 2025, he also served as the emir of Sunni political group Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
After the al-Assad fled to Russia in December 2024, al-Sharaa became the Syrian president with the backing of the US.
Importance of al-Sharaa's White House visit
al-Sharaa will become the first Syrian president who will visit the White House. According to an official, al-Sharaa may sign an agreement to join the US-led coalition against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in the Middle East.
Tom Barrack, US Special Envoy to Syria, said Washington has been aiming for Syria to join its coalition against the ISIS since 2014, which once controlled a large territory of Syria and Iraq. Currently, Syria is the only last major stronghold of the ISIS, but terror group is trying to regroup there following the fall of the al-Assad regime.
"We are trying to get everybody to be a partner in this alliance, which is huge for them," Barrack said.
During al-Sharaa's White House visit, talks are also expected to be held over de-escalation between Syria and Israel. The US has been mediating talks between them, and according to officials, the two sides are close to arrive on an agreement.
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