The EU on Monday said it was ready to cooperate with a new government in Syria that replaced caretaker authorities in power, just two days after cabinet members—that also includes a Christian woman—were announced. The cabinet counts among its members Druze, Alawaite, and Kurdish minority representatives, along with former employees in the Assad government. The ministers are largely young and highly educated, many at Western universities.
“The European Union welcomes the formation of the new transitional government in Syria. The EU is ready to engage with the new government in order to help tackle the immense challenges ahead,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said in a statement.
Veteran opposition figure Hind Kabawat was appointed as Syria’s social affairs and labor minister on Saturday, becoming the first woman to serve under Islamist interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa.
Kabawat, a member of the Christian minority and longtime critic of ousted leader Bashar al-Assad, previously participated in the preparatory committee for the national dialogue conference held in February.
The strategy to include ethnic and religious minorities in the cabinet seemingly worked as the EU was quick to recognize the new government and their efforts. How it will affect other Western powers that have imposed trade restrictions and held back economic aid to the war-torn country remains to be seen.
europeanconservative.com / AFP
