UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen speaks to reporters in Damascus, Syria, on Sept. 22, 2019. Geir Pedersen said on Sunday that progress has been made on the formation of a Syrian constitutional committee. (Xinhua/Zheng Yihan)
DAMASCUS, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- Geir Pedersen, UN special envoy for Syria, said on Sunday that progress has been made on the formation of a Syrian constitutional committee.
Pedersen made the remarks upon arriving in the capital Damascus on Sunday evening, when he said that since his last visit to Syria in July, progress has been made on the formation of the constitutional committee that should be tasked with reviewing and amending the Syrian constitution.
He said he is looking forward to his Monday's meeting with Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem in Damascus.
On Sept. 18, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that all relevant parties in Syria have agreed on the composition of a committee tasked to rewrite the country's constitution.
He said Pedersen is doing "the final work" with the parties in relation to the terms of reference.
Under an intra-Syrian agreement reached in Sochi, Russia in January 2018, the constitutional committee is to be composed of representatives of the Syrian government, the opposition and civil society representatives, each with 50 members.
The constitutional committee is considered a key element in the Syrian political process.
