DAMASCUS: A United Nations Security Council delegation made its first-ever visit to Syria on Thursday, pledging the international community’s support for the country days before the anniversary of Bashar Assad’s ousting.
“We reiterated our clear support for sovereignty, unity, independence and territorial integrity of Syria,” Slovenian UN ambassador Samuel Zbogar told a press conference in Damascus.
“Our united message was simple and clear: We recognize your country’s aspirations and challenges, and the path to a better future of new Syria will be Syria-led and Syria owned,” said the diplomat, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the UN body.
“The international community stands ready to support you whatever you believe that we can be helpful,” he said, adding: “We want to help build a bridge to this better future for all Syrians.”
The delegation met with Syria’s interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa, a presidency statement said, publishing images of the meeting.
While the UN works to reestablish itself in Syria, the Security Council recently lifted sanctions on Sharaa, whose forces led the offensive that ousted Assad on December 8 last year.
The UN has urged an inclusive transition in the multi-ethnic and multi-confessional country after nearly 14 years of civil war.
“Historic moment”
The day’s discussions included issues from justice and reconciliation to political inclusivity, reconstruction, economic development and counterterrorism, “as well as the need for Syria not to be the source of threat to the security of other countries,” Zbogar said.
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani said the visit represented “a historic moment for rebuilding trust, with the support of the international community for the Syrian people.”
State news agency SANA said the delegation also visited Damascus’s historic Old City and the heavily damaged suburb of Jobar.
The diplomats are to visit neighboring Lebanon on Friday and Saturday.
Zbogar had said Monday that “the visit to Syria and Lebanon is the first official visit of the Security Council to the Middle East in six years, the first visit to Syria ever.”
The trip comes “at a crucial time for the region” and for both countries, Zbogar had said, noting the new authorities’ efforts toward Syria’s transition as well as a year-old ceasefire in Lebanon between Israel and militant group Hezbollah “which we see daily that is being challenged.”
He noted that “there’s still a bit of lack of trust in the UN-Syria relationship, which we try to breach with this visit.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Tuesday that “we very much hope that the visit will increase the dialogue between the United Nations and Syria.”
UN Security Council says ready to support Syria on first-ever visit
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UN Security Council says ready to support Syria on first-ever visit
- “The international community stands ready to support you whatever you believe that we can be helpful,” Zbogar said
Meta to charge Arab advertisers extra fee for reaching European audiences
- US tech giant told advertisers it will add fees ranging from 2 to 5 percent on image and video ads delivered on its platforms to offset digital service taxes
- Charges are determined by where the audience is located, not where the advertiser is based
LONDON: Meta will from July 1 impose location-based surcharges on advertisers targeting audiences in six European countries, a move that will directly affect Arab businesses that run campaigns across the continent.
The US tech giant announced it will add fees ranging from 2 to 5 percent on image and video ads delivered on its platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, to offset digital service taxes imposed by individual governments.
Crucially, the charges are determined by where the audience is located, not where the advertiser is based.
That means Saudi, Emirati, Egyptian or other Arab companies paying to reach consumers in the UK, France or Italy will face the additional costs regardless of their own country’s tax arrangements with Meta.
Fees will apply at 2 percent for ads reaching UK audiences, 3 percent for France, Italy and Spain, and 5 percent for Austria and Turkiye.
“If you deliver $100 in ads to Italy, where there is a 3% location fee, you will be charged $100 (ad delivery), plus $3 (location fee), for $103 total,” the company wrote in an email to an advertiser initially reported by Bloomberg. “Note that any applicable VAT will be calculated on top of the total amount.”
The taxes have been introduced at different points, starting with France in 2019, though not the EU as a bloc.
Many tech companies report substantial sales in Europe and millions of users but pay minimal tax on profits. The goal is to claw back locally derived economic value, Bloomberg reported.
The move follows similar decisions by Google and Amazon, which have also begun passing European digital tax costs on to advertisers.
For Arab brands with growing European footprints, particularly in fashion, travel, hospitality and media, the new fees add another layer of cost to campaigns already subject to currency and targeting complexities.
Digital services taxes, levied as a percentage of revenues earned by major tech platforms in individual countries, have drawn criticism from Washington, which argues they unfairly target US companies.
Meta has been reached for comments.
