Syria’s interim president, Ahmed Al-Sharaa, is set to visit Saudi Arabia on Sunday for his first foreign trip. Accompanying him on this visit is the country’s foreign minister, Asad Hassan Al-Shibani. This information was reported by Syria’s state news agency, SANA, on Sunday.
According to SANA, Ahmed Al-Sharaa will meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The news agency also published images showing President Al-Sharaa and his foreign minister departing by plane for Saudi Arabia.
On December 8 last year, the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham ousted autocratic ruler Bashar al-Assad from power. Following the coup, the group’s leader, Ahmed Al-Sharaa, assumed control. Two months after the coup, he was officially sworn in as the interim president.
Last month, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan visited Syria. During his visit, he stated that Saudi Arabia is working to have the United States and European countries lift economic sanctions imposed on Syria.
The Assad family ruled Syria for 50 years. In 2011, mass protests erupted against Bashar al-Assad. However, he attempted to suppress the movement with force, leading to a civil war in Syria. The conflict resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions. However, after Ahmed Al-Sharaa’s armed group overthrew Assad, the civil war came to an end.
Due to the Assad regime’s oppression of civilians, Western countries imposed numerous economic sanctions on Syria, severely damaging its economy. Now, Ahmed Al-Sharaa is trying to rebuild trust and strengthen relations with these countries.