ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Damascus on Monday becoming the first Western European leader to visit the country since the fall of Bashar al-Assad.

Macron and his accompanying delegation were received at Damascus International Airport by Syrian Foreign Minister Assad al-Shaibani.

“I have come to express France’s commitment to the Syrian people. For a sovereign Syria, united in its diversity and at peace with its neighbors,” Macron wrote on X upon his arrival.

“Together, let us open a new chapter of stability and peace,” he added.

On Sunday, the Syrian presidency said Macron would visit with a high-level delegation that includes investors and representatives of French companies, as the two sides seek to expand economic ties.

The visit would mark the first by a French president to Damascus since Nicolas Sarkozy in 2009, before longtime Syrian ruler Assad crushed pro-democracy protests in 2011.

Earlier in May, Syrian interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa was received by Macron in Paris in the latter’s inaugural European visit since ascending to power in December, offering a seminal moment for Damascus to capture Western goodwill and engage in diplomatic outreach in the pursuit of legitimacy for his administration.

Along with his delegation, the French president is also taking back archaeological artifacts “that were loaned to the Arab World Institute in 2010 and which, for obvious reasons, were not able to be returned to Syria," the Elysee said.

Both heads of states are expected to hold a joint presser Tuesday.