Saudi team arrive in Damascus ahead of Syria embassy reopening 

A Saudi technical team has arrived in Syria to prepare the reopening of the Saudi Arabian embassy in Damascus, according to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).

The delegation, led by a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official, Ghazi bin Rafea Al-Anzi, met with  Syria’s Assistant Foreign and Expatriates Minsiter, Ayman Sousan at the headquarters of the foreign affairs ministry in the Syrian capital, the report added.

Yesterday, a tweet by Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated: “The Saudi technical team responsible for the reopening of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the Syrian Arab Republic arrived in the capital Damascus, in implementation of the decision of the Kingdom to resume the work of its diplomatic mission in Syria.”

The move comes after Riyadh and Damascus agreed to resume diplomatic relations earlier this month, amid Syria’s return to the Arab League after over a decade of its suspension and isolation in the region with notable exceptions.

Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad also attended the 32nd Arab League summit in Jeddah last week hailed the “historic opportunity” for Arab states to rearrange the region “with the least amount of foreign interference.”

Ahead of the diplomatic development, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan met with President Assad in Damascus on 18 April, days after his Syrian counterpart, Faisal Mekdad visited Riyadh.

The Kingdom’s normalisation with Syria also follows its decision to re-establish ties with arch-rival and key ally of Syria, Iran in a Chinese-brokered deal.

READ: Saudi embrace of Assad sends strong signal to the US