Syria's new Foreign Minister Assaad Hassan al-Shaibani, received at Riyadh airport by Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Waleed bin Abdulkarim El-Khereiji, Jan. 1, 2025. (Credit: Saudi Press Agency/Handout via Reuters)
Syria's new Foreign Minister, Assaad al-Shaibani, said he hoped to open “a new and brilliant page” with Saudi Arabia on his arrival in the kingdom on Wednesday, on his first visit abroad.
“I have just arrived in the brotherly kingdom of Saudi Arabia, accompanied by Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra and Intelligence Chief Anas Khattab,” he posted on X. “This first visit in the history of free Syria allows us to open a new page in Syrian-Saudi relations, befitting the long shared history between our two countries,” added the head of Syrian diplomacy.
Earlier on Wednesday, Syrian state media reported that the trip was taking place “at the invitation of the Saudi Foreign Minister.”
According to the Syrian Ministry, the delegation was received on arrival at Riyadh airport by the Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister, Waleed bin Abdulkarim El-Khereiji.
Last month, a Saudi delegation met the new Syrian leader Ahmad al-Sharaa in Damascus, a source close to the Saudi government told AFP. Last week, in an interview with Saudi TV channel Al-Arabiya, Sharaa said that Saudi Arabia “will certainly play an important role in Syria's future,” referring to “a great investment opportunity for all neighboring countries.”
Syria's economy and infrastructure have been devastated by over 13 years of civil war that began with a brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protests in 2011.
Saudi Arabia supported Syrian rebels seeking to overthrow the government from the outset of the civil war. But last year, Riyadh re-established ties with President Bashar al-Assad's government and helped bring Syria back into the Arab League, ending its regional isolation.