A syrian delegation high ranking reached Saudi Arabia Wednesday in the first foreign visit by the country’s new Islamist rulers since the dictator was overthrown. Bashar al Assad last month, state media reported.
“An official Syrian delegation led by foreign minister“Assaad al-Shibani, Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra and General Intelligence Service head Anas Khattab arrive in the Saudi capital Riyadh on the first official visit abroad at the invitation of the Saudi Foreign Minister,” the official SANA news agency reported, citing a Foreign Ministry source.
The statement describes it as “the first official visit abroad, at the invitation of the Saudi Foreign Minister.”
Last month, a Saudi delegation met with Syria’s new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaain Damascus, said to the AFP at that time a source close to the government.
Shaar leads the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham that led the rebel offensive that toppled Assad on December 8.
Last week, in an interview with Saudi television Al ArabiyaSharaa said that Saudi Arabia “will undoubtedly play an important role in the future of Syria”pointing out “a great investment opportunity for all neighboring countries.”
Syria’s economy and infrastructure have been devastated by more than 13 years of civil war that began with a brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protests in 2011.
Saudi Arabia broke relations with the Assad government in 2012 and backed Syrian rebels who sought to overthrow him at the start of the country’s civil war.
But last year, Riyadh reestablished ties with the Assad government and was instrumental in Syria’s return to Arab Leagueending its regional isolation.
Saudi Arabia has become a major market for Captagon, an addictive drug for which there is huge demand in the oil-rich Gulf.
This amphetamine-like narcotic was Syria’s most valuable export during Assad’s rule, turning the country into one of the world’s leading narco-states.
On the other hand, two planes from Saudi Arabia landed this Wednesday in the Damascus International Airport loaded with humanitarian aid and a medical team as part of the Arab kingdom’s first operation to “help the Syrian people overcome the crisis they are going through,” several sources reported.
The official Syrian news agency SANA reported in a brief statement the arrival of both Saudi planes with humanitarian and relief aid, accompanied by a photograph of the cargo at the foot of the ships.
“The plane was received by the chargé d’affaires of the Embassy of the Kingdom (Saudi) in the Syrian Arab Republic, Abdullah bin Saleh Al Haris; the president of the Syrian Arab Red CrescentMohamed Hazem Baqla, and several media outlets,” added the Saudi news agency SPA in another note in reference to the first plane.
Al Haris explained that “this aid is an extension of the humanitarian and relief efforts provided by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the brotherly Syrian people through its humanitarian arm, the Relief Center. Rey Salmanto contribute to alleviating their suffering as a result of the current crisis they are going through.”
For his part, the head of the Syrian Red Crescent Organization expressed his sincere gratitude to Saudi Arabia for this delivery, which was later followed by a second plane to reinforce the first shipment.
Last Monday, a Qatari military plane landed at the Damascus international airport with humanitarian material, as well as “technical aid” to restore the operation of the airfield, out of service since the fall of Bashar al-Assad.
The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has recently called on the international community for a “change of mentality” on Syria to improve living conditions and create a suitable context for the country’s uprising after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
The new Syrian authorities have been established after the fall of Al Assad due to the lightning offensive launched by jihadists and rebels led by Hayat Yahrir al-Sham (HTS), whose leader Ahmed Hussein al Shara, known as Abu Mohamed al Golani, is the current ‘de facto’ leader of the Asian country.
(With information from AFP and EFE)
