Hours after Syrian military groups declared former rebel leader Ahmad Al-Sharaa president, Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani became the first head of state to visit Damascus since Bashar al-Assad was toppled.

The visit coincided with congratulatory messages from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Jordan, and other Arab countries pledging support for Syria’s transition.

Qatar, a backer of the Syrian opposition since 2011, is poised to play a key role in the country’s political transition and reconstruction.

Al-Sharaa, the former head of Al Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate, is reportedly set to visit Saudi Arabia next week, marking his first publicly known trip outside Syria since his release from a US prison in Iraq in 2010.