DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syria and Saudi Arabia signed multibillion-dollar investment agreements on Saturday, including a major telecommunications project, a low-cost joint airline and an international airport in northern Syria.
Syria is trying to improve its economy after a long war that killed nearly half a million people and caused widespread destruction. Most of the crippling Western sanctions on Syria were lifted after a new leadership took power following the ouster of former President Bashar Assad in December 2024, opening the way for investments to flow into the country.
Abdulsalam Haykal, Syria’s minister of communications and information technology, said the nearly $1 billion telecommunications development will take place in two stages lasting between 18 months and two years.
“The project contributes in making Syria an international telecommunications hub,” he said, adding the SilkLink project will involve thousands of kilometers (miles) of cables being laid to boost internet connectivity between Asia and Europe.
Saudi Investment Minister Khalid al-Falih said the project will be led by Saudi Telecom Company, or STC Group.
Al-Falih said that the Energy Ministry in Syria also signed a water agreement with Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power, which is known for running projects in power generation and desalinated water production plants in the Middle East and beyond.
Also part of the investment agreements was a new low-cost airline called Flynas Syria, the two sides said. The value of the investment was not disclosed.
The oil-rich kingdom, a main backer to Syria’s new government led by interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, will also launch an investment fund to develop the international airport in the northern city of Aleppo that will serve 12 million passengers annually, according to the two governments.
In July, Syria and Saudi Arabia announced 47 investment agreements valued at over $6 billion.
Officials pose after signing an agreement to develop water desalination and transfer projects between Syria's Ministry of Energy and Saudi Arabia's National Water Transfer Group at the People's Palace in Damascus, Syria, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
Syrian interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa attends a signing ceremony of strategic agreements between Syria and Saudi Arabia at the People's Palace in Damascus, Syria, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
Officials pose after signing a framework agreement for developmental cooperation and the launch of 45 development initiatives between the Syrian Development Fund and Saudi Arabia's Development Committee at the People's Palace in Damascus, Syria, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Konnor Griffin endured plenty of emotions when the 19-year-old shortstop learned the Pittsburgh Pirates were calling him up to the majors just a week into the season.
Shock was not one of them.
“I'm ready for this,” Griffin said Friday, just hours before making his major league debut against Baltimore at PNC Park.
He certainly looked ready, delivering an RBI double off Baltimore's Kyle Bradish in his first at-bat to help the Pirates to a 5-4 victory.
The Pirates are betting more big moments are on the way after making Griffin the first position player to arrive in the majors before his 20th birthday since Juan Soto did it with Washington in 2018.
Just 628 days after Pittsburgh selected him with the ninth pick in the 2024 amateur draft, the athletic and mustachioed 6-foot-3 Griffin found a No. 6 jersey hanging in his locker at PNC Park and his name penciled in the seventh spot in the lineup against the Orioles.
On the surface, it seems fast. The reality is that Griffin checked every box — and checked every box quickly — while sprinting through the Pirates' system. The final steps came over the last week when he hit .438 in a handful of games for Triple-A Indianapolis.
Pittsburgh manager Don Kelly felt Griffin was “pressing” near the end of spring training, when he smashed three homers but also hit just .171. The club made Griffin one of the last cuts before the opening-day roster was set. Yet rather than sulk, he headed to Triple-A, made a couple of adjustments, and saw immediate results.
“He just went right down and hit his stride and was able to reset in a couple of days,” Kelly said. “Which again, for anybody, is really impressive, especially for a 19-year-old kid whose hopes and dreams were to make the big leagues.”
That doesn't make Griffin unlike the millions of kids who pick up a bat when they're in elementary school. It's everything that has come after it, however, that has set Griffin apart. He raced through the lower levels of the minors last year, hitting 21 homers, driving in 94 runs, and stealing 65 bases while showcasing the range to play one of the game's most demanding defensive positions.
Yet it's not just the tangible on-field things that won the organization over. Griffin has long carried himself with the maturity of someone far older. He married his high school sweetheart, Dendy, over the winter. And she was the first one he told after Indianapolis manager Eric Patterson called Griffin to his hotel room in Columbus early Thursday to tell him he was heading to The Show.
The next 24 hours were a blur. From the short drive from Columbus to Pittsburgh to the scramble for the Mississippi native's family to make it to the ballpark that's tucked hard against the Allegheny River in time for Friday's first pitch.
Finally, just after noon, Griffin was able to relax. He trotted out to shortstop and took grounders, his frame and arm making him look very much the part of the role he's been preparing for since he was 5.
Griffin's skillset has drawn comparisons to the likes of Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr., heady territory for someone less than two years removed from his high school graduation. Still, he's not getting ahead of himself.
“Today is the first day of carving out a legacy that I want to build,” he said. "And I’m ready to do that and try to be right up there with those top guys.”
Griffin is the latest in a string of high-profile arrivals in Pittsburgh, from reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes to rookie right-hander Bubba Chandler to catcher Henry Davis.
The future that's been talked about since general manager Ben Cherington was hired in late 2019 is finally arriving. And perhaps it's telling of how far the club has come that Griffin is joining a roster that has undergone a significant upgrade in recent months with the additions of All-Star second baseman Brandon Lowe, All-Star first baseman/outfielder Ryan O'Hearn and veteran designated hitter Marcell Ozuna.
“This team is loaded,” Griffin said. “I get to come in here and just be a piece of this puzzle.”
Perhaps a very big piece. For a very long time. The Pirates and Griffin have engaged in talks about a contract extension that would lock him up for most of the next decade.
Griffin demurred when asked about it on Friday, though he made his intentions very clear.
“All I’m going to say is, I want to be a Pirate for a long time,” he said. "This is a special place and I’m thankful to be here.”
Perhaps most importantly because it means he can shed the “top prospect” label and stop focusing so much on his individual development and instead turn his attention to helping the Pirates make a playoff push for the first time since the mid-2010s.
“Now it’s time to take all the skills that I’ve learned,” he said, "all the adjustments I’ve made. It’s time to go put them on the field and go win some games.”
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb
Pittsburgh Pirates' Konnor Griffin celebrates after hitting an RBI double, his first Major League career hit and run, during the second inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles in Pittsburgh, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Pittsburgh Pirates' Konnor Griffin (6) is introduced for his major league debut before a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles in Pittsburgh, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Pittsburgh Pirates' Konnor Griffin sprints for home to score a run during the second inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres in Pittsburgh, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Pittsburgh Pirates' Konnor Griffin hits an RBI double, his first Major League career hit and run, during the second inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles in Pittsburgh, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Pittsburgh Pirates' Konnor Griffin, right, follows manager Don Kelly, center, and owner Bob Nutting into a meeting with reporters before making his Major League Baseball debut in the Pirates' home-opener against the Baltimore Orioles, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Pittsburgh Pirates' Konnor Griffin meets with reporters before making his Major League Baseball debut in the Pirates' home-opener against the Baltimore Orioles, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Pittsburgh Pirates' Konnor Griffin meets with reporters before making his Major League Baseball debut in the Pirates' home-opener against the Baltimore Orioles, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
