The two Mideast powerhouses have been trying to block the rise of Islamist groups in the region for two decades. The rebel takeover in Damascus will test that approach.

A high-level delegation from Syria's transitional government visited Saudi Arabia on Thursday, marking their first foreign trip and signalling a warming of ties with the oil-rich monarchy. The team, including Syria's newly appointed Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani,

Assad's ouster, Syrian Foreign Minister Assaad al-Shibani said he hoped to open a "new, bright page" in bilateral relations. Syria's new

Last month, a Saudi delegation met Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus, a source close to the Saudi government told AFP at the time. Sharaa heads the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group that led the rebel offensive that ousted Assad on December 8.

Shibani, visits Saudi Arabia, the first foreign trip by Syria’s new leadership following their rise to power last month.

Foreign and defence ministers arrive in Riyadh as Gulf states move to embrace new rulers

A Syrian delegation led by newly appointed Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani arrived in Riyadh on Wednesday in its first official visit abroad, Syrian state news agency SANA reported, citing a foreign ministry source.

Ministers from Syria’s transitional government held talks in Saudi Arabia on Thursday on their first foreign visit since they toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad last month. “Through this first visit in the history of free Syria,

Shibani met with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal Bin Farhan Bin Abdullah Al-saud in Riyadh on Thursday (January 2) during his first official visit abroad.