Saudi Arabia on Thursday signed major investment and partnership deals with Syria, valued at $6.4 billion, to help rebuild the war-ravaged country’s infrastructure, telecommunications and other major sectors.
The oil-rich Gulf kingdom has been a major backer of the new Syrian government, which seized power after an Islamist-led offensive toppled longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad in December.
Speaking at the Syrian-Saudi Investment Forum at Damascus’s presidential palace, Saudi Investment Minister Khalid Al-Falih announced “the signing of 47 agreements and memoranda of understanding… with a total value of nearly 24 billion Saudi riyals (around $6.4 billion)”.
With interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and other officials in attendance, Syria’s economy minister, Mohammed al-Shaar, called the forum “a historic milestone in the history of relations between our two brotherly countries”.
Falih said 11 billion riyals (around $2.9 billion) would be spent on infrastructure and would see the construction of three cement factories.
Saudi telecommunications companies would invest four billion riyals (about $1.07 billion) “with the aim of developing infrastructure and enhancing cyber-security capabilities”, he added.
Other sectors including agriculture and finance are also expected to benefit from major agreements.
On Thursday, UN experts welcomed the lifting of sanctions on Syria by the United States and other Western states, saying it “opens promising pathways to recovery”.
“We urge the interim government to prioritise the reconstruction of sustainable infrastructure and public services to fulfil the wide range of human rights at risk in Syria,” they said in a statement.
Syria’s 14-year civil war devastated much of the country’s infrastructure and its new leaders are hoping to receive international support for reconstruction efforts, which the UN estimates could cost more than $400 billion.
Earlier this month, President Donald Trump formalised the dismantling of US sanctions on Syria, hoping to reintegrate the country into the global economy.
He had already lifted most of the measures in May, responding to appeals from Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
In May, Syria signed a $7 billion energy deal with a consortium of Qatari, Turkish and US companies to help revive its electricity sector.