President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would order the lifting of sanctions on Syria at the behest of Saudi Arabia's crown prince, a major U.S. policy shift ahead of an expected meeting with Syria's Islamist President Ahmed al-Sharaa.

Trump said hello to Sharaa on Wednesday in Saudi Arabia, a White House official said, setting up an encounter between the president and the former al Qaeda commander who took power after Bashar al-Assad was toppled.

Two Syrian presidential sources told Reuters they would meet on Wednesday morning.

"I will be ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria in order to give them a chance at greatness," Trump told an investment forum in Riyadh, at the start of a tour of Gulf Arab states.

"It's their time to shine. We're taking them all off," Trump said, "Good luck Syria, show us something very special."

Removing U.S. sanctions that cut Syria off from the global financial system will clear the way for greater engagement by humanitarian organizations working in Syria, easing foreign investment and trade as the country rebuilds.

Celebrations in Syria!

For the first time in more than half a century, posters of a US president were raised in the streets of the Syrian capital – not in protest, but in celebration.

At the Umayyad Square in central Damascus, Syrians celebrated late into Tuesday night following the announcement that the US will lift sanctions on the country’s shattered economy.

Drivers honked horns and placards of US President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman were hoisted high as Syrians poured into the streets in scenes of unrestrained jubilation.

Crowds danced well into the night, chanting “We love you, Trump!” in a pointed echo of the regime-era slogans once directed at the now-deposed Bashar Al Assad.

“It feels just like the day the regime fell,” taxi driver Mohamed Dibou told The National.

“The future looks very optimistic. After so much pain and after everything we have endured, we can finally breathe. President Trump is very humane, we love him.”