Tunisian President Qais Said Al-Khamis appointed Mohamed Al-Mahdhabi as his country's ambassador to Damascus, after a break in diplomatic relations between the two countries since the start of the conflict in Syria.

Al-Mahdhabi received his credentials from Saeed, according to what the presidency announced in a statement.
The appointment follows a visit last week by Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad to Tunisia.

Damascus had announced its intention to appoint an ambassador to Tunisia, following the initiative of the Tunisian president to resume diplomatic relations between the two countries, which were severed since the beginning of the conflict in Syria.

The exchange of diplomatic representation between the two countries comes at a time when Syria is witnessing unprecedented openness towards it from several Western countries, especially after the devastating earthquake that struck it and neighboring Turkey in February.

Saeed had asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs about a month ago to start procedures for appointing a Tunisian ambassador to Damascus. This came after he announced the restoration of diplomatic relations between the two countries, considering that "there is no justification" for not exchanging ambassadors between the two countries.

In 2012, Tunisia caught up with several Arab countries and severed its diplomatic relations with Damascus during the reign of former Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki, in a move that was met with severe criticism from Tunisian opposition parties.

In 2015, Tunisia took its first diplomatic steps towards Syria with the appointment of a consular representative in Damascus.

Following the outbreak of the conflict in Syria in 2011, several Arab countries, especially the Gulf countries, severed diplomatic relations with Syria and closed their embassies. The League of Arab States also suspended Damascus' membership.

However, over the past few years, signs of Arab openness towards Damascus have emerged, starting with the UAE's reopening of its embassy there in 2018. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has visited the UAE twice since then, the last of which was last March.

However, since the devastating earthquake occurred, Assad has received a torrent of contacts and aid from the leaders of Arab countries, in solidarity that seems to have accelerated the process of normalizing his relations with his regional environment. This was also evident in the landing of Saudi aid planes in government areas, which is the first since Riyadh severed its relations with Damascus.