Saudi Arabia’s Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman and Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan meet their new Syrian counterparts during a trip to Riyadh, Jan. 2, 2025. (X/Prince Khalid bin Salman)
Ministers from Syria’s transitional government held talks in Saudi Arabia on Thursday on their first foreign visit since they toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad last month.
“Through this first visit in the history of free Syria, we aspire to open a new, bright page in Syrian-Saudi relations that befits the long shared history between the two countries,” interim Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani posted on social media after arriving in Riyadh late on Wednesday.
Saudi Arabia severed ties with Assad’s government in 2012 and backed Syrian rebels seeking to overthrow him early in the country’s civil war.
But last year, Riyadh restored ties with Assad’s government and was instrumental in Syria’s return to the Arab League, ending its regional isolation.
Now Syria’s new leadership is eager for Saudi investment to help rebuild the country’s infrastructure, which has been shattered by more than a decade of war.
Syrian Foreign Minister Assaad al-Shibani (L) is welcomed to Saudi Arabia on his transitional government’s first foreign visit since Islamist-led rebels toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad last month
Shibani was accompanied by Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra and General Intelligence Service chief Anas Khattab, and the three men held talks with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, Saudi state television reported.
Last month, a Saudi delegation met Syria’s new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus, a source close to the Saudi government told AFP at the time.
Sharaa heads the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group that led the rebel offensive that ousted Assad on December 8.
Last week, in an interview with Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television, Sharaa , who was reportedly born in Saudi Arabia, said the Kingdom “will certainly have a large role in Syria’s future”, pointing to “a big investment opportunity for all neighboring countries”.
Al-Shibani said on the social media platform X that he hoped the trip would “open a new and bright page” in ties between the two countries.
The visit comes less than a month after Islamist-led rebels forced Syria’s long-time dictator Bashar al-Assad to flee the country.
Saudi Arabia Wednesday launched an airlift of humanitarian assistance to Syria devastated by more than a decade of war.
The United Nations estimates that over 16 million people in Syria now rely on humanitarian aid – the highest number since Syria’s civil war began in 2011.
Since al-Assad’s overthrow, there have been signs of rapprochement between Saudi Arabia, a regional heavyweight, and Syria’s new rulers.
AFP/ Yahoo