Saudi Arabia signs deal worth $6 bn with Syria
Damascus
Saudi Arabia on Thursday signed economic deals worth over $6 billion with war-shattered Syria, the latest sign of support from the oil-wealthy Gulf monarchy for Syria's new rulers.
The deals were signed at a major Saudi-Syrian business forum that opened on Thursday in Damascus.
Saudi Arabia has thrown its political and economic weight behind Syria since an Islamist-led rebel alliance deposed the country's long-time ruler Bashar al-Assad in December. Iran was a major ally of al-Assad.
In May, Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, hosted a meeting in Riyadh between US President Donald Trump and incumbent Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, marking the first encounter between the leaders of the two countries in 25 years.
During his trip to Saudi Arabia, Trump announced the lifting of US sanctions on Syria. The European Union has also taken a similar step. The pacts signed on Thursday cover a wide range of fields including energy, infrastructure, industry, fiscal services, information technology and agriculture, according to Saudi Investment Minister Khalid Al-Falih.
'We will work to encourage international investors to explore investment opportunities in Syria,' Al-Falih said on Thursday.
The Saudi official arrived in Damascus on Wednesday, leading a large business delegation. He also attended the launch of Syria's first white cement plant near Damascus.
In April, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, another Gulf energy-rich emirate, said they would settle Syria's outstanding arrears with the World Bank Group, amounting to some $15 million.
Qatar has pledged investments of over $7 billion for the construction of gas-fired power plants to improve Syria's poor electricity supply Earlier this month, investment-hungry Syria signed an $800 million deal with the Dubai-based DP World to develop and manage the port of Tartus, a key Syrian Mediterranean facility.
Since al-Assad's overthrow, Syria's new leadership has sought to garner world recognition and economic support to rebuild the country devastated by more than a decade of war.
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