Syrian president meets Kuwaiti emir's envoy

DAMASCUS, Syria (Reuters) -- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad held talks on bilateral relations and regional developments on Wednesday with an envoy sent by the Emir of Kuwait, a presidential spokesman said.

The envoy, Abdul-Rahman al-Atiqi, advisor at the Kuwaiti court, delivered a letter from Sheikh Jaber al-Ahmad al-Sabah, spokesman Joubran Kourieh said.

He said Foreign Minister Farouq al-Shara had also been at the meeting at the presidential palace.

Syria maintains strong relations with Kuwait and took part in a U.S.-led multinational force that drove Iraqi troops out of Kuwait in 1991 after nearly six months of occupation.

The Kuwaiti official's visit follows last week's re-opening of a railway route between Syria and Iraq after nearly two decades.

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