Syria Invited to Attend G7 Summit in France in June 2026

Former HTS militant leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani, now called Ahmed Al-Sharaa, became President of Syria after Assad was ousted. (Wikimedia Commons-Syrian Presidency)

JAKARTA - Syria will attend the G7 summit as a guest country in France on June 15-17.

Reuters on Thursday, May 21, quoted three sources as reporting that Syria would be represented directly by Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa at the event.

This will mark Syria's first participation in a G7 summit since the forum was founded in 1975.

One source said the invitation to Sharaa to attend the G7 summit in Évian-les-Bains, southeast France, was delivered directly to Syrian Finance Minister Yisr Barnieh, who attended the group's financial talks earlier this week in Paris.

The source, a Syrian official, said Syria's participation in the talks would likely focus on the country's role as a "potential strategic hub for supply chains" following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Shipments through the strait have largely stalled since the US-Israeli attack on Iran on February 28 shook the global economy.

Syria, which emerged from a 14-year civil war as a Western ally, is trying to rebuild an economy devastated by years of conflict and sanctions.

Although most of the sanctions imposed on Syria during the rule of former Presidents Hafez and Bashar Assad have been eased, to attract foreign investment and restore normal banking relations has proved slower and more difficult than many officials expected.