Syria’s newly-appointed President, Ahmed al-Sharaa, is scheduled to land in Saudi Arabia later today for his first official visit abroad.
Syria’s leader will be in Saudi Arabia for two days and is expected to discuss bolstering relations between the two countries.
Syria’s Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani also traveled to Riyadh last month.
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sent congratulatory messages to al-Sharaa after he was appointed president and wished him success.
Last month, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan visited Damascus, where he met al-Sharaa. Prince Faisal said Riyadh was seeking to help Syria’s new authorities secure the lifting of international sanctions.
He added that Saudi Arabia was standing by Syria, pointing to “the importance of accelerating the lifting and freezing of all sanctions.”
Last month, al-Shaibani made his first official trip abroad when he visited Saudi Arabia, which has been providing humanitarian aid to the country
Speaking to the media, al-Sharaa said that the Kingdom “will certainly have a large role in Syria’s future,” pointing to “a big investment opportunity for all neighboring countries.”
He mentioned that he was born in Saudi Arabia, where his father worked at the time, and lived there for the first few years of his life.
