Syria appoints Jordan ambassador

Damascus: Better foreign relations since Assad Snr's death

Syria has appointed its first ambassador to Jordan since recalling its top envoy in 1993 in protest at Jordan's draft peace accord with Israel.

President Bashar al-Assad swore in Abdul-Fatah Amourah, the charge d'affaires at the Syrian Embassy in Jordan, as the new ambassador on Saturday, according to the official news agency Sana.

Bashar al-Assad (right) represents a new generation of Arab leaders

Jordan and Syria were reconciled after the death of King Hussein of Jordan in 1999, who had a hostile relationship with Syria's late President Hafez al-Assad.

The accession of Dr Bashar, as he is known, in July 2000 has been accompanied by efforts in Damascus to improve Syria's foreign relations on all fronts.

Ambassadors were also appointed to Austria, Canada, Cuba and Spain on Saturday.

Appointments during the last two months have raised the number of Syrian ambassadors abroad from just three to the current 20.

Correspondents say the most significant development has been restoration of diplomatic ties between Damascus and Baghdad, after 20 years of Syrian animosity towards the Iraqi government.