For the first time since 2012, Saudi Arabia appointed Dr. Faisal bin Saud Al-Muffil as ambassador to Syria.

In April 2023, Saudi Arabia and Syria resumed their diplomatic relations, and the Arab League decided weeks later to resume the participation of Syrian government delegations in its meetings.

On April 18, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during the first official Saudi visit to Damascus since the rift.

On May 9, 2023, Saudi Arabia decided to resume the work of its diplomatic mission in Syria after severing diplomatic relations between the two countries more than a decade ago.  

She added that the decision comes “based on the bonds of brotherhood that unite the peoples of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Syrian Arab Republic, and out of an interest in contributing to the development of joint Arab action and enhancing security and stability in the region.”

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad also received an official invitation from Saudi Arabia to participate in the Arab summit held in the city of Jeddah last May, in the first invitation he has received to attend an Arab summit since the outbreak of the conflict.

Ambassador Dr. Faisal bin Saud Al-Muffil expressed his thanks, appreciation and gratitude to the Saudi King, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, for the royal trust in appointing him as Saudi ambassador to Syria.

Al-Muffil expressed his great pride in the generous royal trust, praying to God to provide him with help and success in performing his work duties in a way that achieves the aspirations of the leadership, in serving the interests of the Kingdom and consolidating the bonds of bilateral relations between the two brotherly countries.

On December 6, Syria announced the appointment of its Assistant Foreign Minister, Ayman Soussan, as ambassador to Saudi Arabia, months after the resumption of diplomatic relations with Riyadh.

Following the outbreak of conflict in the country, several Arab countries, led by Gulf countries, cut off diplomatic relations with Syria and excluded it from the League of Arab States in 2011. Despite Damascus’s return to the Arab embrace, its international isolation continues.

The last Saudi ambassador to Syria was Ambassador Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Aifan, who presented his credentials to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on August 26, 2009, before leaving the position on March 14, 2012, “due to the development of events.” In Syria".