Syria, Saudi Arabia sign defence cooperation deal, agree $403m in loans

Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman have overseen the signing of several agreements, including a defence cooperation deal, and more than $403m in Saudi loans for Syria’s energy, housing, health and infrastructure sectors. The agreements were signed on Wednesday, during al-Sharaa’s second visit to Riyadh in less than a month. Syria’s Foreign Ministry called the cooperation agreement between the two countries’ defence ministries the “most notable” of the deals. But it did not disclose the terms. The defence agreement came days after Syria’s Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said his government was weighing whether to join a mutual defence pact among Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan.