Saudi Arabia and Syria sign military agreement — Jerusalem Post

Saudi Arabia and Syria signed an agreement on military cooperation between the defense ministries of the two countries in Riyadh on November 4. The document was concluded during a visit by Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the second time in a month, the Jerusalem Post reports.

The contents of the military agreement were not publicly disclosed. Reuters previously reported that Syria was considering the possibility of assistance in the war against the Iran-backed Houthis. Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani also said in recent weeks that Damascus was exploring the possibility of joining the Mecca Pact, which currently includes the Sunni countries of Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. Egypt has also expressed interest in joining.

Concessional loans for Syria

Separately, the Saudi Fund for Development and Syria's Ministry of Finance concluded six agreements to provide more than $403 million in concessional loans. Syria's Foreign Ministry reported this.

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The funding includes $100 million for restoring and equipping damaged medical facilities, $90 million for restoring a thermal power plant in Aleppo, $60 million for housing repairs, and another $105 million for strengthening civil defense.

Investments in airports and communications

In February, Saudi Arabia and Syria announced multibillion-dollar investment agreements in energy, telecommunications, aviation and real estate. Saudi Investment Minister Khalid al-Falih said at the time that the Saudi investment fund had committed to allocate 7.5 billion Saudi riyals, nearly $2 billion, for the phased development of two airports in Aleppo.

Syria's Minister of Communications and Information Technology Abdulsalam Haykal said that a telecommunications project worth nearly $1 billion would be implemented in two stages over a period of 18 months to two years. Saudi low-cost carrier flynas and Syria's Civil Aviation Authority also signed an agreement to establish flynas Syria airline: the Syrian side will own 51% of the joint venture, while flynas will own 49%.