New Syria leader meets Saudi crown prince on first foreign visit

Syria's interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa said Saudi Arabia had a "genuine desire" to help rebuild his war-torn country, after meeting on Sunday with the oil-rich Gulf state's crown prince.

Accompanied by his foreign minister, Asaad al-Shaibani, Sharaa was greeted by Saudi officials on arrival in Riyadh, images from state television outlet Al-Ekhbariya showed.

Sharaa was received later by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the official Saudi news agency reported.

"We held a long meeting during which we felt and heard a genuine desire to support Syria in building its future," Sharaa was quoted as saying in a statement on Telegram.

Sharaa, whose group led the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in December, was named Syria's interim president on Wednesday.

A Syrian diplomat did not respond to AFP on how long Sharaa's visit would last.

Saudi Arabia's King Salman and his son Prince Mohammed were among the first to congratulate him on his official appointment.

Syria's new government takes shape

The Syrian presidency had earlier posted a picture on X of Sharaa and Shaibani aboard what appeared to be a private jet on their way to Saudi Arabia, calling it a "first official visit".

Sharaa, whose group led the overthrow of Assad in December, was named interim president on Wednesday.

Syria's newly appointed president for a transitional phase Ahmed al-Sharaa meets Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed Bin Salam, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, February 2, 2025.Reuters

The Syrian authorities are counting on wealthy Gulf countries to finance the reconstruction of their war-ravaged nation and revive its economy.

In late December, Sharaa stated in an interview with the Saudi channel Al-Arabiya that the kingdom would "certainly play an important role" in Syria's future, highlighting a "great opportunity for investment".

Personal ties

He told the channel he was born in Saudi Arabia, where his father worked, and that he had spent the first seven years of his life there.

Rabha Seif Allam, a regional expert at the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies in Cairo, said Riyadh was "playing a key role in reintegrating the new Syria into the Arab world and onto the international stage".

She said that Saudi Arabia, the Arab world's largest economy, would "directly benefit" from the stabilization of Syria.

"Iran is now excluded from the Syrian landscape, weakening its regional influence, and drug trafficking from Syria to the Gulf countries, which had been a destabilizing factor, is now a thing of the past."

Distancing Damascus from Tehran was a "strategic service" to Riyadh, she added.

Though Saudi Arabia and Iran ended a seven-year diplomatic freeze in 2023, the regional heavyweights remain at odds over multiple geopolitical issues, including the civil war in Syria, where they backed opposing sides.

Sanctions and diplomatic momentum

Syria is also pressing for international sanctions that have dragged down its economy to be lifted.

The sanctions date back to 1979, when the United States labelled Syria a "state sponsor of terrorism", but they were ramped up significantly by Washington and other Western powers when Assad cracked down on anti-government protests in 2011 and sparked the civil war.

Saudi Arabia's foreign minister visited Damascus last month and promised to help secure an end to the restrictions.

Prince Faisal bin Farhan said during his visit that Riyadh was engaged in "active dialogue with all relevant countries, whether the United States or the European Union, and we are hearing positive messages".

The new Syrian authorities have received a steady stream of diplomatic visitors since toppling Assad in December.

On Thursday, Damascus received Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, who "stressed the urgent need to form a government representing all spectrums" of Syrian society in order "to consolidate stability and move forward with reconstruction, development and prosperity projects".