Today, Sunday, May 26, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia announced the appointment of a new ambassador to Damascus for the first time since 2012.
The Saudi newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat reported that Dr. Faisal bin Saud al-Mujfel was appointed as the ambassador to Riyadh in Damascus.
Al-Mujfel expressed his gratitude and appreciation to King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince and Prime Minister Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the royal trust in appointing him as the ambassador of his country to Syria.
Al-Mujfel said, “I am deeply honored by the gracious royal trust and pray to the Almighty to grant me help and success in performing my duties to meet the aspirations of the wise leadership in serving the interests of the Kingdom and strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries.”
Al-Mujfel has a military background as he served in the Saudi Armed Forces and was promoted to the rank of Major General in 2019.
He was previously appointed as the ambassador to Cameroon in Africa.
The Syrian regime-affiliated newspaper, Al-Watan, mentioned earlier this year about the anticipated reopening of the Saudi embassy in Damascus.
This move comes after Saudi Arabia renewed its relations with the Syrian regime in March 2023, following a diplomatic break that lasted for more than a decade due to the regime’s security response to the popular uprising in 2011.
The restoration of relations between Riyadh and Damascus was followed by a series of developments, including the reintegration of the Syrian regime into the Arab League and an invitation extended to its president, Bashar al-Assad, to attend the Arab Summit in Jeddah.
In May this year, al-Assad also attended the Manama Summit in Bahrain but did not give a speech.
In December 2023, the Syrian regime announced the appointment of Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Ayman Sussan as ambassador to Saudi Arabia.
On May 13, the local Hashtag website quoted sources in the Civil Aviation Authority as saying that work is underway to complete the necessary paperwork to resume flights between Syria and Saudi Arabia after obtaining the Kingdom’s approval.