Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said yesterday that the kingdom will jointly offer with Qatar financial support to state employees in Syria.
“The kingdom will provide with Qatar joint financial support to state employees in Syria,” Prince Faisal said during a Press conference with his Syrian counterpart Asaad Al Shibani in Damascus.
He did not provide details on the size of the financial support to be provided by Riyadh and Doha. However, it echoes a similar move by Qatar to bankroll Syria’s public sector.
A joint statement by Saudi Arabia and Qatar later said yesterday that the joint financial support would be delivered over a three-month period.
It said the move came following an earlier contribution by Saudi Arabia and Qatar in April to settle Syria’s outstanding arrears of around $15 million to the World Bank.
The Saudi foreign minister’s visit comes few weeks after the US made a surprise announcement on lifting sanctions on Syria’s Islamist-led government which overthrew former leader Bashar Al Assad in December.
US President Donald Trump made the decision during his recent visit to the Middle East and said it was at the behest of Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince, whose country was a main advocate for the lifting of sanctions.
The European Union also recently lifted economic sanctions on Syria.
Prince Faisal referred to his country’s role in helping to lift economic sanctions on Syria, saying that Saudi Arabia would continue to be one of the main backers to Syria on its path to reconstruction and economic recovery.
He said he was being accompanied by a high-level economic delegation from the kingdom to “hold talks (with the Syrian side) to bolster aspects of co-operation in various fields”.
Several visits would then follow in the coming days by Saudi businessmen to Syria to discuss investments in energy, agriculture, infrastructure and other sectors, he said.
The Syrian leadership is seeking to strengthen ties with Arab and Western leaders following the fall of Assad at the hands of Ahmed Al Sharaa’s Hayat Tahrir Al Sham.
It hopes a flow of aid and investments by Gulf neighbours following the lifting of economic sanctions would help it rebuild a state shattered by conflict.
Syria’s Al Sharaa is set to visit Kuwait today upon an invitation by Kuwait’s Amir Shaikh Mishal Al Ahmad Al Sabah, Syrian state news agency Sana reported, citing a source in the Syrian president’s office.
Al Sharaa is set to discuss joint co-operation in various economic and political aspects in his first official visit to Kuwait, the source said.
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