Syria on Monday ended over a decade of exile from the Arab League as its officials took part in a preparatory session ahead of Friday's summit in Saudi Arabia, AFP reported.
"I... take this opportunity to welcome the Syrian Arab Republic to the League of Arab States," Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan told the meeting, which was broadcast live by state TV channel Al Ekhbariya.
Jadaan said he was "looking forward to working with everyone to achieve what we aspire to", as the camera panned to the Syrian delegation.
The Arab League earlier this month welcomed back Syria's government after a more than decade-long suspension, having initially frozen Syria's membership in November 2011 over the bloody government crackdown on protesters.
Saudi King Salman has invited Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad to attend Friday's summit in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah, which would be his first since a 2010 meeting in Libya.
"This is a new opportunity for us to tell our Arab brothers that we do not look to the past but towards the future," Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad said upon landing in Jeddah on Monday evening, according to AFP.
"There are many challenges that we must discuss and mobilize to confront, including the Arab-Israeli conflict," he added.
Syria’s return to the Arab League was made possible as regional capitals have gradually been warming to Assad. Diplomatic activity picked up after a deadly earthquake struck Syria and Turkey on February 6.