"The chancellor will receive the president of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa, at the chancellery on Monday... for his inaugural visit," spokesman Stefan Kornelius said Friday.

Sharaa led Islamist rebel forces to overthrow longtime leader Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

He has since undergone a rapid reinvention and made several overseas trips, including to the United States and France.

That has already led to a series of international sanctions on Syria being lifted.

Sharaa had initially been due to visit Germany in January, but the trip was postponed at a time of clashes between Syrian government troops and US-backed Kurdish fighters.

Sharaa will also take part in an economic forum where "high-ranking business and government representatives" will discuss "prospects for economic recovery and the reconstruction of Syria", a foreign ministry spokesman said.

"The long conflict in Syria has had a devastating impact on the Syrian economy," the German spokesman said, noting "widespread poverty among the population and the high financial requirements for reconstruction".

"With the lifting of numerous EU, UN and other sanctions following the end of the Assad regime, the foundations for (economic recovery) have been laid," he said.

Several NGOs, including those representing the Kurdish and Alawite Syrian communities in Germany, had called on Berlin to axe Sharaa's planned visit in January, labelling it "totally unacceptable".