Maissa Kabbani: In the Rooms Where Decisions Are Made — and a Bridge That Leads Investors to Damascus

Some photographs record more than a passing encounter. They record an entire stretch of the road. What follows is a set of moments that brought me face to face with leaders and officials in Washington, New York, San Francisco, Riyadh and Damascus — and in every one of them, the subject was the same: Syria.

“Make Syria Great Again” — The White House, 28 March 2025

28 March 2025. A photograph I will never forget. 🇸🇾🇺🇸

After the victory of the Syrian revolution, I had the honor of being invited by President Donald Trump to the Ramadan iftar at the White House. It was the first time I met him after the victory in Syria.

I said to him, smiling:

“Mr. President, we have a new slogan now: ‘Make Syria Great Again.'”

A play on his own famous slogan, Make America Great Again. He smiled.

Then I added:

“And I hope to see a Trump Tower in Damascus, Syria, very soon… Inshallah.”

He smiled again.

At the end of our conversation, I asked whether we might take this photograph together. He agreed warmly.

Looking at it now, and at everything that followed, I am struck by how vast the dreams of Syrians seemed at the time — and by how much of what looked impossible yesterday has become possible today.

Make Syria Great Again God willing, Syria will be great once more.

A first meeting — and three hours on the Syria we dream of

After meeting President Donald Trump on 28 March 2025, I had the honor of meeting President Ahmed al-Sharaa for the first time on 30 April 2025, in the presence of American businessman Jonathan Bass.

The meeting lasted close to three hours. It was a candid, far-reaching conversation about the future of the new Syria, led by the question of lifting American sanctions, opening up to the United States and the West, reconstruction, and attracting investment — while keeping Syrian policy balanced and open in its international relations, East and West alike, in a way that serves the Syrian national interest.

For me, it was an important opportunity to come to know President al-Sharaa closely: how he thinks, how he sees the Syria that is coming, and how he intends to bring our country out of years of isolation and war into a new phase of stability, reconstruction and engagement with the world.

I left that meeting more convinced than ever that the battle to build Syria is no less consequential than the battle to liberate it — and that lifting sanctions and restoring Syria to its natural place in the international community were among the essential keys to opening the doors of economy, investment and reconstruction to Syrians.

A photograph I hold dear, and the memory of a first meeting with the president of the new Syria, at a moment when many doors were still closed and a great deal of work lay ahead to open them.

New York, September 2025: “The Man of Peace”

A painting made by Syrian hands, which we wanted to reach President Trump. On it we wrote: “The Man of Peace” — in appreciation of his support for the new Syria.

During our meeting in New York, Ambassador Tom Barrack saw it, photographed it, and sent the image directly to President Trump.

It was a lovely moment, and a simple Syrian message to a man whose positions mattered in supporting the new Syria and its return to the world.

“Your boldness turns heads” — with Mr. Massad Boulos

One of the finest memories from the Ramadan iftar with President Trump.

Mr. Massad Boulos had overheard my exchange with the President — “Make Syria Great Again,” and our hope of seeing a Trump Tower in Damascus soon. He laughed, took this photograph with me, and said something I will not forget:

“Your boldness turns heads. You have come a long way in carrying Syria’s message to President Trump.”

A small moment in the frame. A very large one in meaning.

In the Red Room of the White House

I could not leave this beautiful room without a photograph in it — the Red Room, one of the most famous rooms in the White House, and a favorite of First Lady Nancy Reagan.

With its historic detail, its elegance and its distinctive color, it is even lovelier in person than in photographs.

A fine memory from a place whose walls hold so much of America’s history.

A conversation I won’t forget: why Ahmed al-Sharaa?

At the Ramadan iftar in March 2025, Christopher Landau, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, was seated at our table. When he learned that I had visited Syria several times since liberation, he asked me a serious question:

“Why do you believe President Ahmed al-Sharaa is a good leader for Syria?”

I told him: because the man entered Damascus and brought down a criminal regime, yet he did not enter as an avenger. At a moment when the country could easily have slid into civil war, chaos and widespread revenge, he protected civilians, brought weapons under control, and united the factions under a single authority.

After fourteen years of war and the spread of arms, preventing chaos was itself an extraordinary achievement.

And so I said to him: we do not judge statesmen only by how they come to power, but by what they do once power is in their hands. What Ahmed al-Sharaa did in that moment is why we see him as one of the statesmen Syria needs at this stage.

New York, April 2025: with Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani

A photograph I treasure with Mr. Asaad al-Shaibani, Foreign Minister of the new Syria, during his historic meeting with the Syrian community in New York.

This was no ordinary gathering. It was one of the first moments in which we felt that the new Syria had begun to recover its voice and its place in the world.

Syria was taking its first steps back toward the world that day, and we, its sons and daughters abroad, were witnessing the opening of a new chapter in its history.

A moment that will stay with me, and one of the finest photographs from Syria’s earliest days after the victory.

“Syria is no longer alone” — with HRH Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud

With Her Royal Highness Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Washington, at the Ramadan iftar in the White House.

Princess Reema was close by during my conversation with President Trump about Syria. Afterward she congratulated me on the victory of the Syrian people and the liberation of Syria, and spoke about the new Syria and the Kingdom’s support for it with warmth and genuine hope.

That evening I felt that Syria was no longer alone, and that the Syrians’ victory had opened new doors for the country across the region and the world.

Today, seeing the scale of Saudi support for the new Syria, I remember those words well — and I understand that what was said that night was not diplomatic courtesy, but the expression of a real position and a real vision for Syria and its future.

With all appreciation to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦🇸🇾, and to Princess Reema bint Bandar, who shared the joy of victory with me on a night I will not forget.

With Morgan Ortagus at the White House: the sanctions file

This photograph is also from the Ramadan iftar at the White House in March, and it marks an important turn in the conversation about the new Syria.

Minutes earlier I had spoken with Senator Lindsey Graham about the need to work toward lifting sanctions on Syria. He pointed me directly to Morgan Ortagus, as one of the officials handling the file, and told me: “Go and talk to her.”

And so we did — a substantive conversation about Syria, about the need to lift sanctions and clear the way for Syrians to rebuild their country. We agreed that day to set a later date to continue the discussion at greater length.

I keep these photographs today not as White House souvenirs, but because they remind me of a period when lifting sanctions on Syria was the question I carried with me into nearly every meeting.

And today, seeing how far Syria has come, it is clear that many of the doors that seemed impossible then have begun to open — and that every voice, every meeting and every sincere effort for Syria counted.

Syria was present in every conversation, because Syria was always the cause.

From San Francisco: talking about Syria before the victory

In November 2023, on the sidelines of the APEC CEO Summit in San Francisco, which brought together a number of the world’s most prominent leaders, I had this meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who was attending as part of his country’s delegation.

This was before the victory of the Syrian revolution and the fall of the Assad regime, at a time when Syria was still living under the weight of that regime and its crimes.

We spoke about Syria and the Syrian revolution, and Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim told me of his support for the Syrian people and their revolution, and of his condemnation of Bashar al-Assad’s crimes against them.

I look at this photograph today with an entirely different meaning. Back then we spoke of the Syria we dreamed of seeing free; today we speak of the new Syria after the victory. 🇸🇾

Some photographs do not record a passing encounter. They record an entire stretch of the road, and they remind us of those who stood with Syrians while the way to victory was still long.

Thank you to Malaysia, and to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, for the positions he took toward the Syrian people and their cause.

From Riyadh: the economy as Syria’s gateway back

Among the meetings I value most in the Saudi capital: with H.E. Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih, Minister of Investment of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and H.E. Dr. Mohammad Nidal Al-Shaar, Minister of Economy and Industry of the new Syria.

The meeting took place alongside a series of gatherings and events bringing together Syrian and Saudi officials and business leaders to discuss encouraging and facilitating investment in Syria, and opening the way for Saudi capital and expertise to take part in rebuilding the Syrian economy.

It was heartening to see the new Syria returning to its Arab surroundings through the gateway of economy, investment and genuine partnership — and to sense a clear Saudi interest in the opportunities this new phase carries.

The conversation today is no longer only about rebuilding what was destroyed. It is about building a new Syria with a strong economy, real investment, and Arab and international partnerships worthy of its future. 🇸🇾🇸🇦

Syria is coming back — and this time, hope, investment and the future are coming back with it.

What ties these photographs together is not the places or the names. It is that Syria was present in every conversation, because Syria was always the cause.

Make Syria Great Again — God willing, Syria will be great once more. 🇸🇾