Saudi FM meets Syrian counterpart in Riyadh

Monitoring Desk

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan on Thursday received his Syrian counterpart Asaad Hassan al-Shibani at the headquarters of the Saudi foreign ministry in Riyadh, according to an Al Arabiya correspondent.

Al-Shibani arrived in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday alongside other top officials, marking the first foreign visit by Syria’s new leadership since the ousting of Bashar al-Assad last month.

“An official Syrian delegation headed by Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani, Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra and General Intelligence Service chief Anas Khattab arrives in the Saudi capital Riyadh,” the official SANA news agency reported.

The statement described it as “the first official foreign visit, at the invitation of the Saudi foreign minister.”

Al-Shibani said he hoped to open a “new, bright page” with Saudi Arabia upon arriving in the Kingdom on Wednesday.

“I have just arrived in the sisterly Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, accompanied by the Minister of Defense Murhaf Abu Qasra and the Head of the General Intelligence Service Anas Khattab,” he said on X.

“Through this first visit in the history of Free Syria, we aspire to open a new, bright page in Syrian-Saudi relations that befits the long shared history between the two countries,” al-Shibani added.

Last month, a Saudi delegation met Syria’s new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus.

Last week, in an interview with Al Arabiya, al-Sharaa said Saudi Arabia “will certainly have a large role in Syria’s future,” pointing to “a big investment opportunity for all neighboring countries.”

Syria’s economy and infrastructure has been devastated by more than 13 years of civil war that began with a brutal crackdown on peaceful protests in 2011.

Courtesy: (Al Arabiya)