Syria interim president enroute to Saudi Arabia for first foreign visit

DAMASCUS: Syria’s interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa was enroute to Saudi Arabia on Sunday for his first international visit since the toppling of Bashar al-Assad, his office said.

The presidency posted a picture on X of Sharaa and his foreign minister aboard what appeared to be a private jet with the caption “President Sharaa and Asaad al-Shaibani travel to Saudi Arabia, first official visit”.

Sharaa, whose Islamist group led the overthrow of Assad in December, was named interim president on Wednesday.

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and his son, the country’s facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, were among the first to congratulate Sharaa on his official appointment.

The Syrian authorities are counting on wealthy Gulf countries to finance the reconstruction of their war-ravaged nation and revive its economy.

On Thursday, Damascus received Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, who “stressed the urgent need to form a government representing all spectrums” of Syrian society in order “to consolidate stability and move forward with reconstruction, development and prosperity projects”.

According to Damascus, the two sides discussed reconstruction.

The new Syrian authorities have received a steady stream of diplomatic visitors since toppling Assad in December.