Syria and Saudi Arabia sign defence deal and $403m loan agreements

Syria’s Foreign Ministry called the defence cooperation agreement the “most notable” of the deals, but did not disclose its terms.

The 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, Turkey 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.

During talks, al-Sharaa and Prince Mohammed discussed what the Syrian Foreign Ministry described in a statement as the “current regional and international situation”, including 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. 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.

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.

The Saudi Fund for Development agreed to provide $403 million in loans under six agreements with Syria’s Finance Ministry, on concessional terms. The funds include $100 million to rebuild and equip damaged healthcare facilities, $60 million to repair damaged housing, $105 million to strengthen civil defence, $90 million to rehabilitate the Aleppo thermal power plant and $30 million to develop drinking water systems in Damascus and Idlib. The two governments also signed a memorandum of understanding on industrial cooperation and two agreements on agriculture and environmental protection.

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

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, who have attacked airports and oil facilities in Saudi Arabia during their conflict with forces aligned with Yemen’s internationally recognised government.