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Donald Trump said he would lift all sanctions on Syria to give the country “a chance at greatness”. Western sanctions have long been imposed on Syria to isolate Bashar al-Assad, its fallen dictator. But such penalties have hobbled the new government’s attempts to reconnect Syria to the global economy. Mr Trump will reportedly meet Ahmed al-Sharaa, Syria’s new president, in Saudi Arabia this week.
Mr Trump signed a “strategic economic partnership” worth $600bn with Muhammad bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler. That includes a $142bn arms deal, and a commitment by Humain, the kingdom’s AI company, to build infrastructure using chips made by Nvidia, an American firm. Mr Trump and MBS are also expected to discuss regional security in meetings on Wednesday.