Ambassador Sulaiman, Mohammad Al-Ghezzawi, Jamal Najib and Abdel-Salam Mashhadieh from the Embassy with the Governor General and his spouse.

www.syrianembassy.org.au

Welcome Note
By
Ambassador Tammam Sulaiman

The Embassy of the Syrian Arab Republic in Canberra welcomes the visitors to its website and would like to inform them that the Embassy started working in Australia on February 25th, 2004. The decision to establish an embassy in Australia was in response to the Syrian Community in Australia, and also to enhance relations between Syria and Australia.

Syria, whose history is replete with civilisations and celestial religions which marked the ethics of the Syrians and all Muslim and Christian Arabs, was the glowing centre of civilisations ages ago. From Damascus St. Paul spread the message of Jesus Christ (PBUH); and Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) always talked about the blessings of Damascus in his recorded sayings.

Damascus, the most ancient inhabited capital in the world, has long sought peace in the region. Late President Hafez Al-Assad accepted the peace initiative between the Arabs and Israel in 1991 based on the resolutions of the United Nations, and President Bashar Al-Assad played a crucial role in adopting the Peace Initiative in the Arab Summit in Beirut 2002 based on the same resolutions.

Syria has raised the slogan of Arab solidarity as an axiom in its policy on the Arab level, as well as the banner of supporting the liberation movements and the subdued nations to regain their freedom. Thus, the Palestinian cause and the restoration of the occupied territories including the Syrian Golan was a priority in its international policy. Twenty years ago, Syria has called for holding an international conference to define terrorism and to distinguish between terrorism and the legitimate right of people against occupation. Moreover, Syria, which is party to the Non-Proliferation Treaty of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), has always called for freeing the Middle East from weapons of mass destruction.

Until today Syria is loyal to the principles that formed the bedrock of its political, social and cultural structure, that is restoring the occupied Arab territories, the return of the Palestinian refugees to their occupied land and establishing their independent state Palestine with Al-Quds as its capital and implementing all resolutions of the international legitimacy regarding the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Since the commencement of its work in Australia, the Syrian Embassy has been working on building friendship bridges with the Australian Government and with the Australian people in the light of the mutual cultural diversity of different peoples that Syria shares in common with Australia.
 
The value of the Syrian Expatriates abroad is now paid greater attention after establishing the Ministry for Expatriates in Syria, whose main priority is to attract the Syrian Expatriates to return to their homeland Syria and to employ their achievements and inventions through many legislations and decrees.
The Embassy has started its work on February 25th, 2004 with a delegation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs consisting of the following members:
1- Ambassador Tammam Sulaiman.
2- Mohammad Al-Ghezzawi.
3- Jamal Najib.
4- Ali Ramadan.
5- Abdel-Salam Mashhadieh.
6- Khalil Al-Tal.

The delegation was received in Australia by warm welcome from the Syrian and Arab community, which was the first aid to the Embassy in building the relations with the Australian people.

Right from the first days in Australia, the Embassy had embarked on a series of contacts both on the diplomatic and community levels.
1. On the diplomatic level : The Embassy is focused on fields of trade, tourism and agriculture, in addition to visiting the Australian states and meeting with their officials and parliamentarians.
2. On the community level : The Embassy has dealt with the Syrian community in Australia via the Syrian Expatriate Associations in Australia, which the Embassy helped in forming them. Those associations connect the Syrian community in Australia with their home country Syria.

The Embassy, with coordination with the Syrian community, had put a plan encompassing the needs of the community at large:
1- Forming the "Council of the Syrian Community in Australia CSCA" combining all expatriates associations in the Australian states.
2- Working on building the "Syrian House" in each state where Syrians reside. The "Syrian House" will be a meeting place for all Syrians, their families and functions.
3- Undertaking a "Census" project with a view to ascertaining the number of Syrians in Australia.
4- Establishment of the "Friends of Syria" group, which is comprised mainly of former Australian Ambassadors and diplomats posted to the Australian Embassy in Syria, academics and archaeologists interested in the Syrian history and Australian officials and members of the Parliament who had visited Syria.

The Council of the Syrian Community in Australia CSCA is composed of the following expatriates associations in Australia:
1- Syrian Expatriate Association in Sydney – NSW.
2- Syrian Expatriate Association in Melbourne - VIC.
3- Syrian Expatriate Association in Adelaide - SA.
4- Syrian Expatriate Association in Brisbane - QLD.
5- Syrian Expatriate Association in Perth - WA.
6- Syrian Expatriate Association in Canberra - ACT.

Members of the Syrian Embassy in Canberra present their warmest compliments to all Syrians and to all the Arabs in Australia, and wish them a better life and to remain as they have always been, messengers of peace and love.
   
Ambassador
Tammam Sulaiman