Syria and Saudi Arabia sign defense cooperation agreement, agree to $403 million loans | Mohammed bin Salman News

Defense cooperation agreement signed as Syrian President al-Sharaa visits Riyadh for the second time in less than a month.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman oversaw the signing of several agreements, including a defense cooperation deal, and more than $403 million 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.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry called the cooperation agreement between the defense ministries of the two countries “the most remarkable” of the agreements. But he did not disclose the terms.

The defense deal came days after Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said his government was considering whether to join a mutual defense pact between Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan.

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

Saudi Arabia has requested help from the United States and countries in Europe and the Middle East for defensive and offensive support in a new war against the Houthis in Yemen. The group has attacked airports and oil installations in Saudi Arabia as it battles forces aligned with Yemen’s internationally recognized government for control of the country.

Regional tensions

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

This includes the effects of military escalation on regional security, the security of international shipping, the reliability of energy supplies and the stability of the global economy, the statement said.

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

Syrian political researcher Ahmed Qassem told Al Jazeera that “al-Sharaa’s second visit in such a short time indicates the scale of security challenges in the region” as well as in Syria. He argued that Syria should join the Mecca alliance because the country needs a “deterrent force” to protect its sovereignty and deter Israel’s growing encroachment on its territory.

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

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

The two governments also signed a memorandum of understanding on industrial cooperation and two others on agriculture and environmental protection, the statement added.

Saudi Arabia has been a key supporter of the Syrian government since Al-Sharaa came to power following 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 Syria’s reconstruction plans during this meeting, including the reconstruction of damaged infrastructure and essential facilities.