Dhaka, Sept. 22 -- Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa arrived in New York on Sunday to attend the United Nations General Assembly, becoming the first Syrian head of state to do so in nearly 60 years.

The last Syrian leader to appear at the General Assembly was in 1967, years before the Assad family's five-decade rule. That era ended in December when then-President Bashar Assad was ousted in a lightning insurgent offensive led by al-Sharaa, bringing to a close nearly 14 years of civil war.

Since taking power, al-Sharaa has moved to mend ties with Arab nations and Western governments, which were initially cautious due to his past leadership of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a group once designated as a terrorist organization by the United States. He...