Syrian President meets Saudi Crown Prince on first foreign visit

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman received Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa today, Sunday, who is visiting Riyadh on his first foreign trip after assuming the presidency of Syria.

Al-Sharaa is accompanied by a delegation that includes a number of ministers and officials from the Syrian caretaker government, including Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, who visited Riyadh earlier.

The Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said that the Crown Prince and the Syrian President discussed "the latest developments in Syria and ways to support the security and stability of sisterly Syria," and they also discussed aspects of bilateral relations and "opportunities to enhance them in various fields, in addition to reviewing developments in the regional situation."

The agency added that the Syrian President expressed his "thanks and appreciation to His Highness the Crown Prince for the Kingdom's positions towards the Syrian Arab Republic and the Syrian people."

His Highness the #Crown_Prince and the Syrian President discuss the latest developments in Syria and ways to support the security and stability of sisterly Syria. They also discussed aspects of bilateral relations between the two brotherly countries and opportunities to enhance them in various fields, in addition to reviewing developments in regional situations and efforts made in this regard. His Excellency expressed… pic.twitter.com/ZRwoHbhl3C

— SPA Royal News (@spagov) February 2, 2025

For his part, Al-Shara said in a statement by the Syrian presidency, "Today we held a long meeting, during which we sensed and heard a real desire to support Syria in building its future, and a keenness to support the will of the Syrian people and the unity and integrity of its territories."

Al-Sharaa arrived at Riyadh airport earlier today, where he was received by Prince Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Abdulaziz, Deputy Governor of Riyadh Region.

The two-day visit comes after the new Syrian administration announced last week that Sharaa would assume the presidency of the country during the transitional period, along with other decisions, including dissolving armed factions, security services, the People's Assembly, and the Baath Party, which ruled the country for decades, and canceling the constitution, after the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad's regime on December 8.

The Saudi capital was the destination of the first visit made by the Syrian Foreign Minister in early January, and his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, also visited the Syrian capital, Damascus, at the end of the same month.

Source: Agencies