Syrian President heads to Saudi Arabia on first foreign visit

The Syrian presidency announced on Sunday that interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa had headed to Saudi Arabia, in his first foreign visit since the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad on December 8.

The presidency published, via the X platform, a picture of President Al-Shara and his Foreign Minister inside what appears to be a private plane, accompanied by the comment: “President Ahmed Al-Shara and Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani are heading today (Sunday) on their first official visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”

President Ahmed Al-Shara and Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani are heading today on their first official visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia #Presidency_of_the_Syrian_Arab_Republic pic.twitter.com/ol27e2pAMj

— Presidency of the Syrian Arab Republic (@G_CSyria) February 2, 2025

The new Syrian administration announced the appointment of Sharaa as the country's president in the transitional phase at a conference held by Syrian factions in Damascus last Wednesday.

Since the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad’s regime on December 8, the relationship between the two countries has witnessed diplomatic activity to develop bilateral relations, as Saudi Arabia was the destination for the first foreign visit made by Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Sheibani in early January, followed by a visit by Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan to Damascus on January 24, during which he met with al-Sharaa and al-Sheibani.