Syria seeks to emulate S. Korea's rise from war

Syria is looking to learn from South Korea’s postwar recovery experience and is calling for private sector involvement in its wide-ranging reconstruction efforts, according to Seoul’s Foreign Ministry.

"We conveyed that Korea is indeed a crucial partner, given our own experience in rebuilding the country surmounting difficult times — and the Syrian side affirmed it in their own words," a senior Foreign Ministry official said on condition of anonymity during a closed-door briefing Tuesday, after diplomatic ties were forged between Seoul and Damascus on Thursday.

"Syria seemed to have high expectations for our support in those areas, and we see that we can provide assistance — and that such efforts could ultimately serve our own national interest as well."

The establishment of diplomatic ties “in a prompt and sweeping manner,” roughly two months after a South Korean diplomatic delegation visited Damascus in early February, was due to the “alignment of demands for substantive cooperation,” the official said.

“The new Syria is eager to stabilize quickly and gain international recognition, while we, for our part, had not had the opportunity to establish ties due to Syria’s close alignment with North Korea — and did not want to miss the opportunity when it finally came.”

During a five-hour whirlwind visit to Damascus, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul signed a joint communique on the establishment of diplomatic ties with his Syrian counterpart, Asaad al-Shaibani, with whom he held an hourlong bilateral meeting, and met with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa.

Cho proposed sharing South Korea’s development experience and expanding cooperation in humanitarian support, the economy and reconstruction for Syria.

"During the meetings, both the Syrian president and foreign minister responded positively to Minister Cho’s proposal to share South Korea’s development experience. They even expressed a desire to dispatch a working-level delegation, saying they hoped to learn from South Korea’s expertise in various fields such as IT and energy,” the official said. “The Syrian president additionally stated that he hopes to build a strategic relationship with Korea."

The Syrian side repeatedly expressed hope for South Korean companies' participation in its reconstruction, following years of civil war. Forging diplomatic ties creates an environment conducive for South Korean companies to participate in the reconstruction market once economic sanctions are lifted.

The scale of Syria’s reconstruction market is estimated to be around $250 billion, due to 14 years of conflict that have left nearly all sectors in need of rebuilding — including infrastructure, particularly roads and ports, as well as energy, education, health care and information technology, according to the official.

With regard to the opening of embassies, the official explained that South Korea’s embassy in Lebanon will concurrently cover Syria for now. The Syrian side has not yet informed South Korea of any specific plans on their end.

“Now that diplomatic ties have been established, it’s time for both sides to put their heads together and discuss the next steps,” the official said.

The official also offered behind-the-scenes accounts from Cho’s trip to Damascus

Cho’s trip to Syria took place at the request of the Syrian side during concrete discussions on how to establish diplomatic ties on March 20, led by Ambassador to Lebanon Park Il on behalf of South Korea, after the agenda was approved at a Cabinet meeting here on March 18.

“Since the Syrian side earnestly requested the minister’s visit, they treated him with the highest level of protocol and security,” the official said. “While we cannot disclose specific details, Syria assigned us three times the number of security personnel typically provided to foreign ministers from other countries.”

The official said the Syrian side prepared the protocol arrangements with meticulous attention, citing the example of al-Shaibani sitting in the driver’s seat to escort Cho from its Foreign Ministry building to the Presidential Palace in Syria. The two ministers personally conversed in English for about 20 minutes during the ride.

"At that time, unexpectedly, Minister al-Shaibani himself got into the driver's seat of the Syrian-arranged vehicle, placed Minister Cho next to him and the two of them traveled in the car alone, security cars ahead and behind them," the official said. “Such an act of personally driving a guest is considered a gesture of the highest reverence within Arab culture. So we can say that they treated us with exceptional courtesy.”