Syria’s leader is in Saudi Arabia to garner support for his transitional government.
Syria’s Ahmed al-Sharaa has arrived in Saudi Arabia and met Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) on his first foreign trip since being named president of the transitional government earlier this week.
The Saudi Press Agency (SPA) showed al-Sharaa meeting MBS – Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader – after the Syrian president had first been greeted by the Deputy Governor of the Riyadh Region Prince Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Abdulaziz after he landed at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Sunday.
Al-Sharaa was accompanied for the talks in Riyadh by Syria’s foreign minister, Asaad al-Shaibani.
Al Jazeera’s Osama Bin Javaid said al-Sharaa chose Riyadh as his first destination to “make sure that Saudi Arabia knows and realises the importance that this new Syria puts it under”.
Al-Sharaa led the Syrian opposition in overthrowing the regime of longtime President Bashar al-Assad on December 8, after a lightning advance across the country. Since then, the new Syrian administration has sought to gain regional and international legitimacy and to have damaging Western sanctions on Syria removed.
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However, concerns over al-Sharaa’s past membership of al-Qaeda have tempered support from some quarters, even as Syria’s new leadership emphasises regional integration and protections for religious and ethnic minorities.
During a visit to Damascus last week, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said his country was engaged in an active dialogue with Europe and the United States to help lift economic sanctions imposed on Syria.
Bin Javaid said al-Sharaa’s visit intended to remind Saudi officials of that promise and obtain all possible help in rebuilding Syria’s infrastructure, government and institutions.
Additionally, the trip to Riyadh symbolises a “seismic shift in the country’s alignment and future relations” away from the toppled President Bashar al-Assad’s allegiance to Iran and Russia.
Last month, al-Sharaa told Al Arabiya TV that Saudi Arabia “will certainly have a large role in Syria’s future”, pointing to “a big investment opportunity for all neighbouring countries”.
Sunday’s trip comes after al-Shibani, Syria’s foreign minister, also travelled to Riyadh last month.
Meanwhile, Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani visited Damascus on Thursday, becoming the first Arab leader to do so since the overthrow of al-Assad.
