Saudi Arabia and Syria sign defense cooperation agreement

Saudi Arabia and Syria signed a cooperation agreement between the two countries' defense ministries on Wednesday, Saudi state ​news agency SPA reported.

The agreement was signed during a visit by Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to Riyadh, where he met ​Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

A Syrian diplomat said at the time that any request for military cooperation or ​exchange of expertise “would take place exclusively through official channels and ​within the framework of the bilateral agreements governing relations between our two brotherly ‌countries.”

Saudi ⁠Arabia has been requesting assistance far and wide, from the U.S. to Europe and the Middle East, for both defensive and offensive support in a renewed war against the Houthis.

The two countries ​also signed several ​other agreements during ⁠Sharaa's visit to Saudi Arabia. The kingdom has been providing financial assistance to Syria and played ​a key role in re-establishing Damascus' ties with ​world ⁠powers after the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad.

The Saudi Fund for Development signed six agreements with Syria's Finance Ministry on Wednesday for the ⁠provision of ​concessional development loans worth over $403 million ​to support development and service sectors in Syria, the Syrian ministry said.