Syria’s chief diplomat has started a visit to Algeria and Tunisia as part of efforts to revive diplomatic relationships in the Arab world, more than a decade after his country was globally isolated amid President Bashar Assad’s brutal crackdown on mass protests against his rule.

Foreign Minister Faisal Mikdad was welcomed on Saturday in the lounge of Algiers airport by his Algerian counterpart Ahmed Attaf. In remarks broadcast by Algerian public television. Mikdad insisted that “relations between the two brotherly countries exist and will continue to exist … beyond the vicissitudes of the situation.”

“My visit will be an opportunity for discussions between the two countries on the latest developments in the region. We need to strengthen this bilateral relationship,” he added.

Algeria is one of the few Arab countries that did not cut off relations with Syria during the civil war that followed the 2011 uprising.

Mikdad notably praised Algeria’s help after the devastating Feb. 6 earthquake that killed tens of thousands in Syria and neighbouring Turkey.

He was also bearing a message from Assad to his Algerian counterpart, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, the Algerian official APS news agency reported.

The visit comes after Mikdad’s visit to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday that led both countries to announce they were moving toward reopening embassies and resuming flights for the first time in more than a decade.

Syria was widely shunned by Arab governments over Assad’s brutal crackdown on protesters in 2011. The breakdown in relations culminated in Syria being ousted from the Arab League.