[DAMASCUS] Saudi Arabia has appointed diplomat Ghazi bin Rafea Al-Enezi as its new ambassador to Syria, succeeding Faisal Al-Mujfel, in the latest step in the restoration of relations between Riyadh and Damascus. The ceremony included several newly appointed Saudi ambassadors to other countries. Faisal Al-Mujfel, the outgoing ambassador, oversaw the initial phase of the restoration of Saudi diplomatic representation in Damascus before being appointed the Kingdom’s ambassador to France. Saudi Arabia closed its embassy in Damascus and withdrew its diplomats in 2012 in response to the Assad government’s violent crackdown on protests. Saudi Arabia officially reopened its embassy in Damascus in September 2024, approximately three months before the fall of the Assad regime.