Syria appoints new ambassador to Saudi Arabia after 11 years

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has appointed Ayman Soussan, who has been serving as deputy foreign minister, as the country’s new ambassador to Saudi Arabia, following the resumption of diplomatic relations between the two countries after more than a decade.

Syria’s state-run news agency SANA said in a statement on Wednesday that Soussan was officially sworn in before Assad during a ceremony attended by Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad.

Sousan will be the first Syrian ambassador to be dispatched to Saudi Arabia since 2012, thus completing the steps to restore diplomatic relations between the two countries.

During Wednesday’s ceremony, Maher Baddour also took the legal oath as Syria’s Ambassador to the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria.

Later, President Assad received the two ambassadors and wished them success in their missions.