Relationship dossier
Syria
Venezuela
Relationship assessment
Political alignment and bilateral cooperation under past Syrian and Venezuelan governments
Syria toward Venezuela
+20Under Bashar al-Assad, Syria pursued high-level engagement with Venezuela, including Assad’s 2009 visit and bilateral cooperation agreements. The extent of continuity under Syria’s post-2024 government is uncertain.
Venezuela toward Syria
+25Venezuela under Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro publicly supported the Syrian government during the conflict and maintained high-level engagement, including Chávez’s 2009 visit to Syria and bilateral cooperation agreements.
Overall relationship
+20The relationship was shaped by political alignment, high-level engagement and bilateral cooperation agreements under the Assad and Chávez governments. Venezuela’s support for the Syrian government during the conflict was a notable feature. Syria’s 2024 change of government leaves the durability of this relationship uncertain.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Syria and Venezuela developed a politically aligned relationship under the governments of Bashar al-Assad and Hugo Chávez, later continued by Nicolás Maduro. High-level engagement and bilateral cooperation agreements accompanied Venezuela’s public support for the Syrian government during the conflict. Syria’s change of government in 2024 makes the continuity of those ties uncertain.
Key developments
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad visited Venezuela, reflecting high-level engagement between the governments.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez visited Syria, and the governments pursued bilateral cooperation agreements.
Venezuela publicly supported the Syrian government during the conflict.
Major uncertainties
- The extent to which bilateral agreements remain in force is unclear.
- The course of Syria’s foreign policy toward Venezuela under its post-2024 government is uncertain.