Syria‘s interim president, Ahmad al-Sara, is visiting Ankara tomorrow in his second official trip abroad after Saudi Arabia, the Turkish presidency announced.

“Syrian Arab Republic’s interim president Ahmad al-Sara will pay a visit to Ankara on Tuesday, February 4, at the invitation of our president Recep Tayyip Erdogan,” the Turkish presidency’s communications director Faretin Altun told X.

“The joint measures to be taken by our two countries for economic recovery, lasting stability and security (in Syria) will be assessed during the meeting to be held at the presidential palace,” according to the Turkish presidency.

Turkey, which shares a 910-kilometer border with Syria, has received around three million Syrian refugees on its territory. About 80,000 of them have returned to Syria since the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime.

Turkey supports the new Syrian leadership and says it is ready to participate in the reconstruction of the country. It is also seeking cooperation with the new Damascus leadership on the issue of Kurdish forces that control a large area of northeastern Syria.

From Riyadh yesterday, the Syrian leader hailed Saudi Arabia’s “real willingness to support Syria in building its future”, referred to a “real partnership” and explained that during his meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman they discussed “huge future projects in the fields of energy, technology, education and health”.

Damascus’ new leadership is counting on the rich Gulf countries to fund the country’s reconstruction and economic recovery after 14 years of war and international sanctions.

Ahmad al-Sharah’s visit to Riyadh also marks Syria’s withdrawal from Iran and the weakening of Tehran’s position in the Near East region.