Syria’s transitional President Ahmed al-Sharaa is to visit Saudi Arabia on Sunday, his first official overseas trip since taking office. The visit comes after Sharaa’s leadership in a rebel campaign that resulted in the ousting of former President Bashar al-Assad in December.
Sharaa, an Islamist with a historical connection to al-Qaeda, has been looking for support from both Arab and Western nations since the removal of Assad. His visit to Saudi Arabia is an example of ongoing diplomatic efforts that are aimed at strengthening Syria’s international ties.
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In January, Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister visited Damascus, marking the kingdom’s entry into talks with European and US officials. The latter is concerned with lifting the economic sanctions that have crippled Syria’s economy.
Finally, the problem of captagon, an amphetamine-like substance that has been manufactured and distributed for decades out of Syria into the Gulf, is a continued concern for several Arab states. Western anti-narcotics agencies have sounded warning bells over the smuggling network and have pointed the finger at Jordan as a transit route.
However, the new foreign minister of Syria, Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, was reassuring the foreign minister of Jordan in early January that the threat of drug smuggling would be eliminated under the new Islamist leadership of Syria.
