Syrian delegation visits Saudi Arabia in first post-Assad trip: What we know
Syrian Foreign Minister Al-Shaibani is on his first foreign visit to Riyadh less than a month since Bashar al-Assad's fall, received by senior Saudi officials including the foreign and defense ministers.
DUBAI — Syrian Foreign Minister Hassan al-Shaibani arrived on a first trip to the Saudi capital Riyadh on Thursday, heading a delegation that met with Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, the minister of defense and other senior officials.
Al-Shaibani's visit, coming less than a month since Bashar al-Assad fell on Dec. 8, is an important step toward normalizing ties with Saudi Arabia, the Middle East's biggest economy and a regional political heavyweight.
“I am honored to represent my country on my first official visit,” al-Shaibani said in a post on X on Monday. "We look forward to building strategic relations with our brothers in the kingdom in all fields.”
He was accompanied to Riyadh by newly appointed Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra and the head of the General Intelligence Service, Anas Khattab.
