Agreements Signed in Riyadh
Syria and Saudi Arabia signed a series of cooperation agreements in Riyadh on 4 November 2026, during a visit by Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa that brought him together with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The signings spanned industry, agriculture and environmental protection, alongside a package of development loans.
The industrial cooperation agreement was concluded at Qasr al-Yamama between Syria's minister of industry, Basel Abdul Hannan, and the Saudi minister of industry and mineral resources, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, with both leaders present.
Industrial Cooperation Terms
The industrial agreement sets out to exchange expertise and transfer experience in industrial regulation and legislation, raise production efficiency and quality standards, and improve the competitiveness of Syrian goods in regional and international markets.
It also provides for joint working groups to draft executive programs covering industrial-city infrastructure, the attraction of quality investment, more efficient supply chains, and training to build technical and innovation capacity among workers.
Loans Across Key Sectors
The visit also produced six concessional loan agreements signed with Syria's finance ministry by the Saudi Fund for Development, worth more than $403 million and directed at reconstruction and basic services after years of conflict.
The itemized financing includes $100 million to rebuild and equip healthcare facilities, $105 million for civil defense, $90 million to rehabilitate the Aleppo thermal power plant, $60 million for damaged housing, and $30 million for drinking-water systems in Damascus and Idlib.
Deepening Economic Ties
The agreements marked President al-Sharaa's second trip to Riyadh in under a month, following a 6 October 2026 meeting that focused on reconstruction. Riyadh has been a leading backer of Syria's government since he took power after the fall of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.
During the talks the two leaders also discussed regional security, energy supplies and the global economy, and called for protecting navigation through the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz. A defense cooperation agreement signed during the visit was described by Syria's foreign ministry as the most notable of the deals, though its terms were not disclosed.