Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman have overseen the signing of several strategic agreements in Riyadh, including a defence cooperation deal and more than $403 million in concessional loans for Syria’s energy, housing, health and infrastructure sectors.
The agreements were formalised on Wednesday during President al-Sharaa’s second official visit to the Saudi capital in less than a month, reports Al Jazeera.
Syria’s Foreign Ministry described the cooperation agreement between the two countries’ defence ministries as the “most notable” of the newly concluded deals, although its specific terms were not disclosed.
The signing comes shortly after Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani revealed that Damascus was assessing whether to join a mutual defence alliance involving Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan.
Speaking at the Manama Dialogue security conference in Bahrain on Saturday, al-Shaibani said: “Discussions are currently under way to evaluate Syria’s entry into the Mecca alliance.”
The defence agreement comes as Saudi Arabia seeks defensive and offensive support from the United States, as well as European and Middle Eastern countries, amid a renewed conflict with Houthi forces in Yemen.
The Houthi group has launched attacks on Saudi airports and oil facilities while fighting forces aligned with Yemen’s internationally recognised government for control of the country.
In a statement published on X, the Syrian Foreign Ministry said President al-Sharaa and Crown Prince Mohammed had reviewed the current regional and international situation during their talks in Riyadh.
The discussions covered the impact of regional military escalation on regional security, the safety of international shipping lanes, the reliability of energy supplies and global economic stability.
Both leaders called for de-escalation and the peaceful resolution of disputes, while urging an “immediate cessation of all actions that threaten the security of maritime navigation” across the Red Sea, the Bab al-Mandeb Strait and the Strait of Hormuz.
On the economic front, the Saudi Fund for Development approved $403 million in concessional loans through six agreements with Syria’s Finance Ministry, according to the official Saudi Press Agency.
The financial package includes $100 million for the reconstruction and equipping of damaged healthcare facilities, $60 million for repairing damaged housing, $105 million for strengthening civil defence, $90 million for rehabilitating the Aleppo thermal power plant and $30 million for developing drinking water systems in Damascus and Idlib.
The two governments also signed a memorandum of understanding on industrial cooperation, alongside two others covering agriculture and environmental protection.
Saudi Arabia has been a key backer of Syria’s government since al-Sharaa came to power following the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.
The two leaders last met in Riyadh on October 6, when they discussed plans for Syria’s reconstruction, including the rebuilding of damaged infrastructure and essential facilities.
