Key Facts

• 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 defence agreement between the countries’ defence ministries the most notable deal but did not disclose its terms.
• Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said days earlier that Syria was considering joining a mutual defence pact involving Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan.
• The Saudi Fund for Development agreed to provide $403 million in loans under six agreements with Syria’s Finance Ministry.
• The loans include $100 million for damaged healthcare facilities, $60 million for housing repairs and $105 million to strengthen civil defence.
• Other loans include $90 million to rehabilitate the Aleppo thermal power plant and $30 million for drinking water systems in Damascus and Idlib.
• The two governments also signed agreements on industrial cooperation, agriculture and environmental protection.
• The leaders called for de-escalation and an end to actions threatening maritime navigation in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandeb and Strait of Hormuz.