The head of the world’s chemical weapons watchdog met Syria’s new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa Saturday.

Axar.az reports that, citing AFP, the Syrian presidency said leader Ahmed al-Sharaa and Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani had “received a delegation from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons” led by Fernando Arias, the body’s chief.

It is a first visit of the organization to Damascus since the ouster of Bashar al-Assad, who was repeatedly accused of using such weapons during Syria’s 13-year civil war.

More than a decade ago, Syria agreed to hand over its declared stockpile for destruction, but the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has always been concerned that the declaration was incomplete and that more weapons remained.

With new authorities now in power, the OPCW visit has raised hope Syria will be conclusively rid of such weapons after years of delays and obstructions to the body’s work.