Afghan Voice Agency (AVA) - International Service: Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, the Emir of Qatar, arrived in Damascus, the capital of Syria, on Thursday on an official visit and was welcomed at Damascus International Airport by Ahmed Al-Sharaa (Abu Muhammad Al-Jolani), the head of the Syrian transitional government, and a number of ministers of the Al-Jolani government.
Earlier, on January 16, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Qatar, had met and held talks with Al-Jolani in Damascus.
Doha reopened its embassy in Damascus after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's government and the establishment of the Al-Jolani government. Qatar had closed its embassy in Damascus in July 2011, at the beginning of the terrorist crisis in Syria.