Saudi Arabia announces $5.6 billion in Syria investments
A Saudi delegation visiting Damascus on Wednesday sealed investment and partnership deals valued at more than $5 billion to help rebuild war-battered Syria, the oil-rich Gulf kingdom announced.
Saudi Arabia has been a major backer of the new Syrian government, which seized power after Islamist-led rebels toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December following 14 years of civil war.
The delegation of some 150 investors and representatives of the Saudi public and private sectors, led by Investment Minister Khalid Al-Falih, attended meetings in Damascus ahead of a forum on Thursday.
"Announced investments, estimated at 21 billion Saudi riyals ($5.6 billion), target key vital sectors including real estate, infrastructure, communications and information technology, aviation and navigation, industry, tourism, energy, trade" and more, a statement from the investment ministry said, revising an earlier total of 19 billion riyals.
On Tuesday, the ministry had said the Damascus forum aims to "explore cooperation opportunities and sign agreements that enhance sustainable development and serve the interests of the two brotherly peoples".
Syria's Information Minister Hamza al-Mustafa told a press conference that the deals announced Wednesday would be officially signed at the forum.
A Saudi investment ministry official confirmed to AFP that Falih would be in attendance.
Earlier this month, President Donald Trump formalized 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.
The US president met Syria's interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa during a visit to Saudi Arabia the same month.
Sharaa, a former jihadist, had also paid a visit to Riyadh in February in his first trip abroad since Assad's ouster.
Earlier this year, Saudi Arabia and Qatar pledged to settle Syria's debt to the World Bank, totaling about $15 million.
Despite vows to unify the country, the new government in Damascus has struggled to maintain order, with deadly clashes involving minority groups raising questions about Syria's stability.
Bloody violence in Sweida province earlier this month started with clashes between Druze fighters and Sunni Bedouin tribes but soon escalated, with Israel later intervening with air strikes targeting government installations.
More than 1,300 people, mostly Druze, were estimated to have been killed during the fighting, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Nahar Net
an hour ago
- Nahar Net
Trump says will 'reduce' Putin's 50-day deadline to end Ukraine war
by Naharnet Newsdesk 28 July 2025, 15:30 U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday he will cut the 50-day deadline he has set Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine. "I'm disappointed in President Putin, very disappointed in him. So we're going to have to look and I'm going to reduce that 50 days that I gave him to a lesser number," Trump told reporters as he met UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer at his luxury golf course in Turnberry in western Scotland.
Nahar Net
an hour ago
- Nahar Net
Thailand and Cambodia agree to 'immediate and unconditional' ceasefire
by Naharnet Newsdesk 28 July 2025, 14:17 Thailand and Cambodia have agreed to an "immediate and unconditional" ceasefire in a significant breakthrough to resolve deadly border clashes that entered a fifth day, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said Monday. Anwar, who chaired the talks as head of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations regional bloc, said both sides have reached a common understanding to take steps to return to normalcy following what he called frank discussions. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and Thai Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai have agreed to an "immediate and unconditional ceasefire" with effect from midnight local time Tuesday, Anwar said as he read out a joint statement. "This is a vital first step towards de-escalation and the restoration of peace and security," Anwar said. Military and officials from both sides will also hold meetings to defuse border tensions, he said. The foreign and defense ministers of Malaysia, Cambodia and Thailand have been instructed to "develop a detailed mechanism" to implement and monitor the ceasefire to ensure sustained peace, he added. Hun Manet and Phumtam hailed the outcome of the meeting and shook hands at the conclusion of the brief press conference. Hun Manet said he hoped that bilateral ties could return to normal soon so that some 300,000 villagers evacuated on both sides could return home. It is "time to start rebuilding trust, confidence and cooperation going forward between Thailand and Cambodia," he said. Phumtham said the outcome reflected "Thailand's desire for a peaceful resolution." The fighting flared last Thursday after a land mine explosion along the border wounded five Thai soldiers. Both sides blamed each other for starting the clashes, that have killed at least 35 people and displaced more than 260,000 people on both sides. Both countries recalled their ambassadors and Thailand shut all border crossings with Cambodia, with an exception for migrant Cambodian workers returning home. The Malaysian meeting followed direct pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, who has warned that the United States may not proceed with trade deals with either country if hostilities continue. The joint statement said that the U.S. is a co-organizer of the talks, with participation from China. The Chinese and American ambassadors to Malaysia attended the meeting that lasted over two hours. The violence marks a rare instance of open military confrontation between ASEAN member states, a 10-nation regional bloc that has prided itself on non-aggression, peaceful dialogue and economic cooperation. Evacuees from both sides of border earlier prayed for a ceasefire deal. At an evacuation shelter in Cambodia's Siem Reap province far away from the border, Ron Mao, 56, said she abd her family fled their home a kilometer (0.6 mile) away from the front line when fighting broke out Thursday. They took refuge in a shelter but moved again to another camp further away after hearing artillery shelling. "I don't want to see this war happen. It's very difficult and I don't want to run around like this," she said. "When I heard our Prime Minister go to negotiate for peace, I would be very happy if they reached the deal as soon as possible, so that I and my children can return home as soon as possible." Thai evacuees echoed the sentiment. "I beg the government. I want it to end quickly," said farmer Nakorn Jomkamsing at an evacuation camp in Surin hosting more than 6,000 people. "I want to live peacefully. I miss my home, my pets, my pigs, dogs and chicken," the 63-year-old woman said. The 800-kilometer (500-mile) frontier between Thailand and Cambodia has been disputed for decades, but past confrontations have been limited and brief. The latest tensions erupted in May when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a confrontation that created a diplomatic rift and roiled Thailand's domestic politics.
Nahar Net
an hour ago
- Nahar Net
Salam says Marcon meeting was positive, contrary to reports
by Naharnet Newsdesk 28 July 2025, 13:52 Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has dismissed the reports that spread a negative atmosphere about his Paris meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron as well as his meeting with Speaker Nabih Berri and U.S. envoy Tom Barrack's mission. 'I wonder where they get this news from. The meeting with Macron was positive, France is supportive of Lebanon and the magnitude of French support is linked to the developments that might happen. But I'm reassured that the renewal of the UNIFIL forces' mandate will take place at the end of August,' Salam said in an interview with al-Liwaa newspaper. As for his expectations for the coming period, Salam said: 'Things are open and nothing is final yet.' Asked about the media reports claiming that France and the U.S. want an Israeli buffer zone in south Lebanon, Salam said he has not heard of such demands.
