RIYADH: A Saudi delegation visiting Damascus on Wednesday inked investment and partnership deals valued at $5 billion to help rebuild war-battered Syria, the oil-rich Gulf kingdom announced.
Saudi Arabia has been a major backer of the new Syrian government, which seized power after Islamist-led rebels toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December following 14 years of civil war.
The delegation of some 150 investors and representatives of the Saudi public and private sectors, led by Investment Minister Khalid Al-Falih, attended a forum in Damascus.
“The announced investments, valued at 19 billion Saudi riyals (about $5 billion), span vital and strategic sectors, including real estate, infrastructure, communications and IT, transportation and logistics, industry, tourism, energy, trade” and more, a statement from the investment ministry said.
On Tuesday, the ministry had said the Damascus forum aimed to “explore cooperation opportunities and sign agreements that enhance sustainable development and serve the interests of the two brotherly peoples”.
Earlier this month, President Donald Trump formalised the dismantling of US sanctions on Syria, hoping to reintegrate the country into the global economy.
He had already lifted most of the measures in May, responding to appeals from Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
The US president met Syria’s interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa during a visit to Saudi Arabia the same month.
Sharaa, a former jihadist, had also paid a visit to Riyadh in February in his first trip abroad since Assad’s ouster.
Earlier this year, Saudi Arabia and Qatar pledged to settle Syria’s debt to the World Bank, totalling about $15 million.
Despite vows to unify the country, the new government in Damascus has struggled to maintain order, with deadly clashes involving minority groups raising questions about Syria’s stability.
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