Arabic version: سوريا والسعودية توقّعان اتفاقاً دفاعياً واتفاقيات قروض

According to Al Jazeera, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman oversaw several agreements in Riyadh, including a defence cooperation deal and more than $403m in Saudi loans for Syrian energy, housing, health and infrastructure.

The agreements were signed on Wednesday during al-Sharaa’s second visit to Riyadh in less than a month. Syria’s Foreign Ministry described the agreement between the two countries’ defence ministries as the “most notable” deal, though it did not disclose its terms.

The defence deal followed comments by Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani that Syria was considering whether to join a mutual defence pact involving Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan. He said discussions were under way to assess Syria’s entry into the Mecca alliance.

The Saudi Fund for Development agreed six concessional loan agreements with Syria’s Finance Ministry worth $403m. They include $100m for damaged healthcare facilities, $60m for housing repairs, $105m for civil defence, $90m for the Aleppo thermal power plant and $30m for drinking-water systems in Damascus and Idlib.

The two governments also signed memorandums on industrial cooperation, agriculture and environmental protection. During their talks, al-Sharaa and Prince Mohammed discussed regional and international developments, called for de-escalation and urged an immediate end to actions threatening maritime navigation in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandeb and Strait of Hormuz.