Syria, Saudi Arabia sign defence cooperation deal, agree $403m in loans

Defence cooperation deal signed as Syria’s President al-Sharaa visits Riyadh for the second time in less than a month.

Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman have overseen the signing of several agreements, including a defence cooperation deal, and more than $403m in Saudi loans for Syria’s energy, housing, health and infrastructure sectors.

The agreements were signed on Wednesday, during al-Sharaa’s second visit to Riyadh in less than a month.

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Syria’s Foreign Ministry called the cooperation agreement between the two countries’ defence ministries the “most notable” of the deals. But it did not disclose the terms.

The defence agreement came days after Syria’s Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said his government was weighing whether to join a mutual defence pact among Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan.

“Discussions are currently under way to evaluate Syria’s entry into the Mecca alliance,” al-Shaibani said on Saturday at the Manama Dialogue, a security conference in Bahrain.

Saudi Arabia has sought help from the United States and countries in Europe and the Middle East for both defensive and offensive support, in a renewed war against the Houthis in Yemen. The group has attacked airports and oil facilities in Saudi Arabia as it fights forces aligned with Yemen’s internationally recognised government for control of the country.

In its statement on X, the Syrian Foreign Ministry said al-Sharaa and Prince Mohammed had discussed the “current regional and international situation” during their talks in Riyadh.

That included the effects of military escalation on regional security, the safety of international shipping, the reliability of energy supplies and the stability of the global economy, it said.

The two men called for de-escalation and the peaceful resolution of disputes. They also urged an “immediate cessation of all actions that threaten the security of maritime navigation” in the Red Sea, the Bab al-Mandeb strait and the Strait of Hormuz, the statement added.

During al-Sharaa’s visit, the Saudi Fund for Development also agreed to provide $403m in loans under six agreements with Syria’s Finance Ministry, on concessional terms, the official Saudi Press Agency reported.

They include $100m to rebuild and equip damaged healthcare facilities, $60m to repair damaged housing, $105m to strengthen civil defence, $90m to rehabilitate the Aleppo thermal power plant and $30m to develop drinking water systems in Damascus and Idlib, the agency said.

The two governments also signed a memorandum of understanding on industrial cooperation and two more on agriculture and environmental protection, it added.

Saudi Arabia has been a key backer of Syria’s government since al-Sharaa came to power after the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024. The two leaders last met in Riyadh on October 6.

According to the Syrian presidency, they discussed plans for Syria’s reconstruction at that meeting, including rebuilding damaged infrastructure and essential facilities.