Syria’s new leaders have appointed a foreign minister, the official Syrian news agency SANA reported, as they seek to develop international relations two weeks after Bashar al-Assad was ousted.

The ruling General Administration named Asaad Hassan al-Shibani as minister of foreign affairs. A source in the new administration told Reuters that this step comes in response to the expectations of the Syrian people for the establishment of international relations that bring peace and stability.

Shibani, a 37-year-old graduate of Damascus University, was previously head of the political department of a rebel government in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province, the General Administration said.

Syria’s new de facto leader, Ahmed al-Sara, has been actively engaging with foreign delegations since taking office, including hosting the UN envoy to Syria and senior US diplomats.

Sarah has shown a willingness to engage diplomatically with foreign envoys, saying his primary focus is on rebuilding and achieving economic growth, while he has said that he has no interest in getting involved in new conflicts.

The US, other Western powers, and many Syrians were pleased to see rebel groups under Sara’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) overturn Assad, but it is unclear whether the Islamist group will impose strict Islamist rules or show flexibility and move toward democracy. HTS was part of al-Qaeda until Sara severed ties with it in 2016.

Forces under the command of Sara—better known as Abu Mohammad al-Golani—installed a three-month-old caretaker government ruling the rebel enclave of Idlib.

Washington designated Sarah a terrorist in 2013, saying Al Qaeda in Iraq had tasked him with toppling Assad and establishing Islamic law in Syria. Washington withdrew its designation of Sarah as a terrorist in exchange for 10 million dollars.

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