From Idlib to Downing Street: Ahmed al-Sharaa meets the UK's prime minister

From Idlib to Downing Street: Ahmed al-Sharaa meets the UK's prime minister Submitted by Imran Mulla on Tue, 03/31/2026 - 10:41 UK expected to announce scheme providing export finance to British companies seeking to do business in Syria Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa is welcomed by Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer ahead of their meeting at 10 Downing Street in central London on 31 March 2026 Off Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa met British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Downing Street on Tuesday morning, on his first trip to London. The landmark meeting reflects the enormous shift in UK-Syria relations since the fall of longtime autocrat Bashar al-Assad in December 2024. Sharaa was previously head of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a rebel coalition that ousted Assad and was until recently a British-designated terrorist group.