Saudi Arabia, Syria sign defence cooperation agreement

CAIRO: Saudi Arabia and Syria signed a defence cooperation agreement on Wednesday during Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s visit to Riyadh, Saudi state news agency SPA reported, amid renewed Houthi missile and drone attacks on the kingdom.

The agreement was signed by the two countries’ defence ministries during a meeting between Sharaa and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. It was their second meeting in Saudi Arabia in less than a month.

The report did not provide details of the agreement.

Last month, Reuters reported that Syria was carefully weighing whether to provide military assistance to Saudi Arabia as the kingdom’s conflict with Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi group escalated.

A Syrian diplomat said at the time that any request for military cooperation or an exchange of expertise “would take place exclusively through official channels and within the framework of the bilateral agreements governing relations between our two brotherly countries”.

Saudi Arabia has been seeking assistance from countries including the United States, European states and others in the Middle East for defensive and offensive support in a renewed conflict with the Houthis.

Saudi Arabia announces development loans

The two countries also signed several other agreements during Sharaa’s visit.

Saudi Arabia has provided financial assistance to Syria and played a key role in re-establishing Damascus’ ties with world powers following the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad.

The Saudi Fund for Development signed six agreements with Syria’s Finance Ministry on Wednesday to provide more than $403 million in concessional development loans, the Syrian ministry said.

The loans are intended to support development and service sectors in Syria.