Syria and Saudi Arabia seal defence pact, agree $403m in loans

Updated by Faith Barbara N Ruhinda at 1344 EAT on Thursday 5 November 2026

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman have presided over the signing of several agreements, including a defence cooperation deal and more than $403 million in Saudi loans to support 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 described the cooperation agreement between the defence ministries of the two countries as the “most notable” of the deals, but did not disclose its terms.

The agreement was signed days after Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said his government was considering joining a mutual defence pact involving Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan.

“Discussions are currently under way to evaluate Syria’s entry into the Mecca alliance,” al-Shaibani said on Saturday during the Manama Dialogue, a security conference held in Bahrain.

Saudi Arabia has also been seeking defensive and offensive military support from the United States and countries in Europe and the Middle East amid renewed conflict with Yemen’s Houthi rebels.

The group has previously targeted airports and oil facilities in Saudi Arabia as part of its conflict with forces aligned with Yemen’s internationally recognised government over control of the country.

In a statement posted on X, Syria’s Foreign Ministry said al-Sharaa and Crown Prince Mohammed had discussed the “current regional and international situation” during their meeting in Riyadh.

The discussions covered the impact of military escalation on regional security, the safety of international shipping, the reliability of energy supplies and the stability of the global economy, the ministry said.

The two leaders called for de-escalation and the peaceful resolution of disputes. They also urged an “immediate cessation of all actions that threaten the security of maritime navigation” in the Red Sea, the Bab al-Mandeb Strait and the Strait of Hormuz, the statement added.

Syrian political researcher Ahmed Qassem told Al Jazeera that al-Sharaa’s “second visit in such a short time indicates the magnitude of the security challenges in the region” and within Syria.

He argued that Syria should join the Mecca alliance, saying the country needs a “deterrence force” to protect its sovereignty and counter what he described as increasing Israeli encroachment on its territory.

During al-Sharaa’s visit, the Saudi Fund for Development also agreed to provide Syria with $403 million in concessional loans under six agreements signed with the country’s Finance Ministry, the official Saudi Press Agency reported.

The agreements include $100 million for the reconstruction and equipping of damaged healthcare facilities, $60 million for housing repairs, $105 million to strengthen civil defence, $90 million to rehabilitate the Aleppo thermal power plant and $30 million to improve drinking water systems in Damascus and Idlib, the agency said.

The two governments also signed a memorandum of understanding on industrial cooperation, alongside two others covering agriculture and environmental protection, it added.

Saudi Arabia has been a key supporter of Syria’s government since al-Sharaa came to power following the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

The two leaders last met in Riyadh on October 6, when they discussed plans for Syria’s reconstruction, including the rebuilding of damaged infrastructure and essential facilities, according to the Syrian presidency.

-Aljazeera

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