Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan will arrive in Damascus on Tuesday, according to what the Syrian Ministry of Information announced, in the first official Saudi visit to Syria since the estrangement between the two countries with the start of the conflict in Syria 12 years ago.

The visit culminates in the resumption of Syrian-Saudi relations and comes a few days after the visit of Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal al-Miqdad to Jeddah, at a time when Arab countries are discussing the possibility of Damascus returning to the Arab League after its membership was suspended in 2011.

The visit comes in the midst of regional diplomatic moves with which the political landscape in the region has changed since Riyadh and Tehran, an ally of Damascus, agreed to resume their relations last month.

The Syrian Ministry of Information called on journalists to cover the expected arrival of the Saudi Foreign Minister in the afternoon at Damascus International Airport.

Following the outbreak of protests in Syria, which soon turned into a bloody conflict in 2011, several Arab countries, led by Saudi Arabia, severed diplomatic relations with Damascus.

Saudi Arabia, which closed its embassy in Damascus in March 2012, especially during the first years of the conflict, provided support to the Syrian opposition, and received figures from it on its soil.

However, during the past few years, signs of Arab openness towards Syria have emerged, which began with the UAE reopening its embassy in Damascus in 2018.

Since the devastating earthquake in Syria and neighboring Turkey in February, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has received a torrent of contacts and aid from the leaders of Arab countries, in solidarity that seems to have accelerated the process of resuming his relations with his regional environment.

The Saudi openness towards Damascus appeared for the first time after the earthquake, when Saudi aid planes landed in government-controlled areas, the first since Riyadh severed its relations with Damascus.

It was only a few weeks until Riyadh announced last month that it was in talks with Damascus regarding the resumption of consular services between the two countries.

On April 12, and on his first official visit to Saudi Arabia since the rupture between the two countries, Al-Miqdad visited Jeddah, where he discussed with Bin Farhan "the necessary steps to achieve a comprehensive political settlement to the Syrian crisis that ends all its repercussions (...) and contributes to the return of Syria to its Arab surroundings." .

After Saudi Arabia, Al-Miqdad visited Algeria, one of the few Arab countries that maintained its relations with Damascus, as well as Tunisia, which announced this month the resumption of its relations with Syria.

On Friday, Saudi Arabia hosted a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, in addition to Egypt, Jordan and Iraq, to discuss the return of Damascus to the Arab incubator.

The conferees stressed "the importance of having an Arab leadership role in efforts to end the crisis" in Syria, as well as "intensified consultations between Arab countries to ensure the success of these efforts."