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A senior Syrian delegation led by Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani arrived in Riyadh on his first official trip abroad since Bashar al-Assad was ousted by rebels last month.
The group, which includes defense minister Murhaf Abu Qasra and intelligence chief Anas Khattab, was greeted at Riyadh airport late Wednesday by the kingdom’s deputy foreign minister Waleed Elkhereiji, according to the official Saudi Press Agency.
“Through this first visit in the history of free Syria, we aspire to open a new and bright page in Syrian-Saudi relations, befitting the long shared history between the two countries,” Shaibani said in X.
Saudi Arabia had welcomed Assad on several occasions over the past two years as it began to re-engage with the dictator for the first time since Syria’s civil war broke out in 2011. But the kingdom and other Gulf states have moved quickly to embrace the new authorities, dominated by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, after capturing Damascus on December 8.
Arab countries are concerned about further conflict and political instability in the region after the devastating wars in Gaza and Lebanon, while Gulf states are also keen to cut down on the smuggling of Captagon and other illegal drugs originating in Syria.
The visit, following an official invitation from the kingdom, comes after Saudi Arabia sent three planes with humanitarian aid to Syria, including food, shelter and medical supplies.
Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Abdullah al-Yahya and Jasem al-Budaiwi, secretary general of the Gulf Cooperation Council, met with Syria’s de facto ruler Ahmed al-Sharaa on Monday.
Yahya called on the international community to reconsider the sanctions imposed on Syria, adding that Gulf countries are working urgently to send more aid to Syria.
The visit “shows our commitment to open a new page of constructive regional cooperation.” . . and we also appreciate the response of the new administration in Syria to these efforts,” Yahya said during a press conference in Damascus.
HTS has been designated a terrorist organization by the US, the UN and others, although Washington and other Western capitals have taken tentative steps to engage with the new rulers.
Qatar, which has previously resisted efforts to rehabilitate the Assad regime and return it to the Arab fold, also sent a high-level delegation to Syria last week.
New Syrian leader Sharaa, who previously used the nom de guerre Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, told the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya news channel in an interview last week that Saudi Arabia “will certainly have a big role in the future of Syria”.
He added that there was “a huge investment opportunity” as the country seeks to rebuild its economy after more than a decade of devastating civil war.
In the same interview, he gave the first indication of a possible timeline for the country’s political transition stages, saying it would take up to three years to draft a new constitution and up to four years to hold elections. the first.
