Syria’s Sharaa meets with Saudi foreign minister in run-up to key investment conference

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa met on Tuesday with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud after arriving in Riyadh to take part in the Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference, considered a key event for Syria’s war-devastated economy.

Syrian media outlets accompanying the visit reported that al-Sharaa is also expected to meet Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as well as Saudi cabinet ministers, in addition to meeting a number of Arab and foreign investors on the sidelines of the conference.

This is al-Sharaa’s third trip to Saudi Arabia since he took power in Syria following former dictator Bashar al-Assad’s overthrow in December 2024. The trip holds considerable importance for Syria, which is seeking to revive an economy crippled by years of conflict and sanctions.

Saudi Arabia has been a key supporter of the new Syrian government and has worked to persuade the United States to lift longstanding sanctions on Damascus. There are signs that the Syrian economy is beginning to recover but Syrians hope to see more tangible results. Riyadh has also provided aid and financial grants to Syria since December of last year.

Syrian Finance Minister Mohammad Yasar Barnieh announced on Tuesday the signing of the “Saudi-Qatari Grant Access Agreement” with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), aimed at supporting wages and salaries in Syria.

Barnieh said all executive measures had been completed to start drawing on the grant – which is valued at roughly $28 million per month for three months and is renewable.

The Syrian government has attached special importance to the Future Investment Initiative this year, dispatching a high-level delegation that includes the ministers of finance, economy, industry, energy, communications, and information, alongside other senior political and economic officials.

Commenting on Syria’s participation, economic researcher Khaled Terkawi told The New Arab’s sister site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that the invitation “reflects Syria’s return to its economic environment,” describing the move as “significant” and “an opportunity to promote Syria’s economic plans to a wide range of businessmen, investors, and companies.”

Political analyst Moayyad Ghazlan told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that economic stability was crucial to Syria’s integrity, given the outbreaks of sectarian violence which followed Assad’s ouster and calls in Druze-majority Suweida province for secession from Syria.

“Reviving the economy is enough to make any separatist current in Syria prefer remaining under the state’s umbrella,” he said. “It is the best peaceful way of drawing all groups back toward the state and lifting Syria’s working class out of decades of marginalization, while improving citizens’ living standards.”

He added that “economic power comes through investment” and called for an “Arab Marshall Plan” for Syria, amid a relative lack of interest from Western countries in reviving the country’s economy.

“Riyadh is continuing its efforts to move the Syrian economy forward,” he said. “I believe Western companies will follow the Saudi lead once they see the success of these first Saudi steps in Syria.”