Madar (International) - Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman oversaw the signing of several agreements in Riyadh on Wednesday, November 4, 2026, including a defence cooperation deal and more than $403 million in Saudi loans for Syria's energy, housing, health and infrastructure sectors, Al Jazeera English reported, citing Reuters.
The signings came during al-Sharaa's second visit to Riyadh in less than a month. Syria's Foreign Ministry described the agreement between the two countries' defence ministries as the "most notable" of the deals but did not disclose its terms.
The deal follows comments by Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani at the Manama Dialogue in Bahrain that "discussions are currently under way to evaluate Syria's entry into the Mecca alliance", a mutual defence pact between Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan.
According to Syria's official news agency SANA, Finance Minister Mohammed Yousr Barnieh and Saudi Fund for Development CEO Sultan bin Abdulrahman Al-Murshid signed six concessional loan agreements worth more than $403 million at Al-Yamamah Palace, described as a first batch: $105 million to build, rehabilitate and equip 25 civil defence centres, $100 million for hospitals and health centres, $90 million to rehabilitate the generating units of the Aleppo thermal power station, $60 million to rehabilitate up to 10,000 damaged housing units, $30 million for 300,000 smart prepaid water meters and more than $18 million for the digital transformation of government financial services. The two sides also signed a memorandum of understanding on industrial cooperation and two more on agriculture and environmental protection.
The leaders discussed regional security, shipping, energy supplies and the global economy, and called for de-escalation and an end to actions threatening navigation in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandeb and the Strait of Hormuz, the Syrian Foreign Ministry said.
Saudi Arabia has been a key backer of Syria's government since al-Sharaa came to power after Bashar al-Assad was overthrown in December 2024. The two leaders last met in Riyadh on October 6 to discuss reconstruction.
