Syriaupdated 54m ago2 min read
Archive photo · 31 March 2026Ahmed Al-Sharaa Meets Mohammed Bin Salman as Saudi, Syria Sign Defense Cooperation Deal
“The two men called for de-escalation and the peaceful resolution of disputes.”
“Details of the agreement such as its nature or committed value were not disclosed.”
Photo: Minister Falconer meets Syrian President by Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, CC BY 4.0 / UK Government and, CC BY 4.0 · Cropped for layout
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Saudi and Syrian defense ministries sign a cooperation agreement during al-Sharaa's Riyadh visit. Loans totaling over $403 million for Syria’s energy, housing, health, and infrastructure.
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Riyadh pact and loans
Saudi Arabia and Syria signed a defense cooperation agreement during Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s visit to Saudi Arabia, with Al Jazeera reporting that al-Sharaa met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh on Wednesday. President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman oversaw the agreements, which included more than $403m in Saudi loans for Syria’s energy, housing, health and infrastructure sectors.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry called the defense cooperation agreement between the two countries’ defense ministries the “most notable” of the deals, while it did not disclose the terms. The Saudi Fund for Development agreed to provide $403m in loans under six agreements with Syria’s Finance Ministry, including $100m to rebuild and equip damaged healthcare facilities and $90m to rehabilitate the Aleppo thermal power plant.
De-escalation and maritime navigation
The two leaders discussed regional and international security during their talks in Riyadh, including the safety of international shipping, the reliability of energy supplies and the stability of the global economy, according to the Syrian Foreign Ministry statement on X. The two men called for de-escalation and the peaceful resolution of disputes and 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 talks yielded defense and development agreements and a joint commitment to de-escalation and to safeguarding maritime navigation. The two sides stressed the immediate halt of all actions that threaten the security of maritime navigation in the Red Sea, the Bab al-Mandab and Hormuz straits.
What comes next for Syria
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, and Al Jazeera reported that discussions were under way to evaluate Syria’s entry into the Mecca alliance. Al Jazeera quoted Syrian political researcher Ahmed Qassem saying al-Sharaa’s “second visit in such a short time indicates the magnitude of the security challenges in the region” and arguing that Syria should join the Mecca alliance to provide a “deterrence force” to protect sovereignty.
SANA said the agreements and memoranda of understanding signed during President Ahmad al-Sharaa’s visit to Riyadh on Wednesday marked a new phase in Syrian-Saudi cooperation focused on restoring essential services, rehabilitating infrastructure and supporting economic recovery. SANA reported that the projects financed by the Saudi Fund for Development included supplying and installing 300,000 smart water meters in Damascus and Idlib and constructing or rehabilitating 25 Civil Defense centers across several governorates.
