Saudi Arabia and Syria Sign Defense Pact and More Than $403 Million in Reconstruction Loans
Saudi Arabia and Syria signed a defense cooperation agreement and more than $403 million in loans for Syria’s reconstruction. The agreement between the two countries’ defense ministries was signed Wednesday, Nov. 4, in Riyadh, and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attended the signing, Reuters reported.
The terms of the defense agreement were not disclosed. Syria’s Foreign Ministry called the agreement the most notable of the deals signed, but did not say what it covers. No joint operations, troop deployments or mutual defense guarantee have been announced.
The loans and the defense agreement are separate. The Saudi Fund for Development signed six concessional loan agreements with Syria’s Finance Ministry. A concessional loan is lent on terms below market rates. The Saudi Press Agency reported the total is more than $403 million.
The loans will repair facilities damaged in the war: $100 million to restore damaged health facilities and equip them, $60 million to repair damaged housing, $105 million to strengthen civil defense, $90 million to restore the Aleppo thermal power plant, and $30 million to develop drinking water systems in Damascus and Idlib. Civil defense is the organization that protects residents during disasters and airstrikes. The Saudi Fund for Development’s chief executive, Sultan Al-Marshad, and Syria’s Finance Minister, Mohammed Yisr Barnieh, signed the loan agreements, according to reports.
The two countries also signed a memorandum of understanding on industrial cooperation and two memorandums on agriculture and environmental protection, Al Jazeera reported.
The visit was al-Sharaa’s second to Riyadh in less than a month. Al-Sharaa leads Syria’s interim government after President Bashar al-Assad fled on Dec. 8, 2024, ending more than five decades of Assad family rule. He became interim president in January 2025, and sanctions eased during the year as he sought reconstruction funding.
The defense agreement also touches a wider regional security picture. Days before the signing, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said Syria was considering joining a mutual defense treaty between Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan. The three countries signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement on Aug. 7, 2026. No decision by Syria has been announced, and the bilateral deal alone does not mean Syria will join the treaty.
Reuters reported the signing came as Yemen’s Houthi rebels continue missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia. The Houthis are a Yemeni rebel group backed by Iran. A Syrian diplomat said any request for military cooperation or exchange of expertise would go exclusively through official channels within the framework of the bilateral agreement, Reuters reported. Neither government has disclosed how the defense agreement will be carried out or what obligations it creates, and no deployment of Syrian troops has been announced. Whether Syria will join the defense treaty with Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan remains undecided.