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Syria

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani at the raising of the new Syrian flag at the UN in New York

Saudi Arabia and Qatar to settle Syria’s World Bank debt

Saudi Arabia and Qatar have jointly agreed to cover Syria’s arrears of $15 million with the World Bank.  “This commitment will pave the way for the World Bank Group to resume support and operations in Syria after a suspension of more than fourteen years,” Saudi Arabia’s finance ministry said in a statement, according to UAE […]

Syria's infrastructure and economy was devastated through civil war

UK lifts sanctions on Syria

Britain said on Thursday it would support efforts to rebuild Syria’s financial system by removing sanctions to encourage investments in financial services, energy production and other sectors. London also lifted asset freezes on Syria’s Defence and Interior Ministries and a range of intelligence agencies, reversing penalties imposed during Bashar al-Assad’s presidency. The West is rethinking […]

IMF Syria new chief Van Rooden is currently mission chief for Ukraine and an assistant director in the IMF's European Department

IMF appoints first mission chief to Syria in 14 years

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has appointed Ron van Rooden as head of its mission to Syria, the first country mission chief since war erupted there 14 years ago. Syria’s finance minister Mohammed Yosr Bernieh said in a written statement, that van Rooden’s appointment came “following our request”. “This important appointment marks an important step […]

Christians march in a parade to celebrate Easter for the first time under the Islamist-led government control, in Damascus, Syria

UN development arm plans $1bn to help Syria

The United Nations Development Programme is hoping to deliver $1.3 billion over three years to support war-ravaged Syria, including by rebuilding infrastructure and backing digital startups, its assistant secretary general has said. Abdallah Dardari told Reuters in Damascus that investing in Syria, which has been hit hard by 14 years of conflict that ended when former leader Bashar […]

Syria flights UAE Damascus airport

Syrian Air restarts flights to Dubai and Sharjah

Syria’s flag carrier, Syrian Air, will resume direct flights to Dubai and Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday, the airline said in a Facebook post. All flights between Syria and the UAE had been suspended in January after Islamist-led rebels toppled the country’s former leader, Bashar al-Assad, in December last year. The announcement […]

Syrian foreign minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani at the ninth Brussels conference 'Standing with Syria', hosted by the European Union in Brussels: he expressed his appreciation of the donations

Donors pledge $6bn in aid to Syria

Donors at a European Union-led conference in Brussels on Monday pledged €5.8 billion ($6.3 billion) to help Syria’s new authorities as they struggle with humanitarian and security problems after the fall of Bashar al-Assad. The pledges at the Brussels gathering were less than last year’s €7.5 billion in grants and loans, as EU officials pointed to […]

Most areas of Syria receive electricity for only a few hours each day and substantial infrastructure repair is needed

Qatar to supply Syria with natural gas to ease power crisis

Qatar has signed an agreement to supply natural gas to Syria via Jordan, a significant step towards addressing the war-torn nation’s energy crisis.  The agreement, signed between Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD) and Jordan’s energy ministry, in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme, will contribute to generating up to 400 megawatts of electricity daily […]

Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa disembarks an airplane. He has repeatedly called for the lifting of sanctions

UK lifts sanctions on Syrian central bank and oil companies

The UK unfroze the assets of Syria’s central bank and 23 other entities, including banks and oil companies, on Thursday, reversing sanctions imposed during Bashar al-Assad’s presidency. The West is rethinking its approach to Syria after insurgent forces led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham ousted Assad as president in December after more than 13 years […]

Syria banks Maysaa Sabreen

Arab banks draw up plan to rebuild Syria’s ailing banking sector

A three-year plan to restructure Syria’s ailing banking sector, which is suffering from massive non-performing loans, is being prepared by the Union of Arab Banks (UAB), an industry association, with the help of unnamed European institutions.  The Beirut-based UAB’s secretary general, Wisam Fatouh, told the Saudi Arabic language daily Aleqtisadia on Monday that the restructuring plan involves […]

A general view of the commercial harbour of Syria's coastal city of Tartous

Turkey lifts Syria trade barriers to spur growth

Turkey has lifted trade and transit restrictions on Syria at the countries’ border, the trade ministry said on Tuesday, progressing with plans to expand trade after the fall of Syrian leader Bashar Al-Assad. Goods exported or imported between the two neighbours or transited through Syrian border crossings will now be subject to the same conditions as those […]

Employees at a government building in Damascus. The US has kept sanctions in place on Syria's central bank

Sanctions on Syrian banks choke economic recovery

Western sanctions on Syria’s banking sector are preventing critical investments in the war-ravaged economy, the country’s investment chief said. This is despite huge interest from Syrian and foreign investors since the fall of Bashar Al-Assad. “Sanctions have stopped everything. Right now, they are primarily on the Syrian people and are increasing their suffering,” Ayman Hamawiye, […]

Turkey Syria trade

Turkey hit with tax on Syrian peace dividend

Long delays at crossing points, increased bureaucracy and tariff hikes are stifling Turkey’s export flows to Syria, according to critics, as the new government in Damascus tries to unify customs rates at the country’s borders.  On January 11 Damascus announced it was standardising duties on imports, with tariffs to be increased by 300 percent or […]

Turkey truck Syria

Fall of Assad reopens Syria route to Gulf for Turkey’s truckers

The overthrow of the Bashar Al-Assad regime is great news for Turkey’s logistics sector, with hopes that the direct land route to the Gulf region through Syria may soon be re-established.  While there will be strong demand for logistics in Syria as the country rebuilds after 13 years of civil war, Turkey’s truckers are looking […]

Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister, has called for an end to economic sanctions on Syria

End sanctions on Syria, says Saudi Arabia

Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister, has called for an end to economic sanctions on Syria, as the kingdom looks to repair trade and relations after the overthrow of the Assad regime. Speaking at a ministerial meeting in Riyadh to discuss Syria, Prince Faisal said that “continuing sanctions will hinder the aspirations of […]

A food stall in the Old City of Damascus. Foodstuffs comprised the largest component of Turkey’s December export figures

Turkish exporters cashing in on end of Syrian conflict

The end of the civil war in Syria is already paying dividends for Turkish exporters. Shipments have increased in the first weeks after the overthrow of the Assad regime, with a further ramping up forecast as stability is established. Turkey’s exports to Syria increased by just under 20 percent year-on-year in December, with more than […]

Shoppers in a market in Douma. The Syrian public sector has salaries that place workers below the poverty line

Syrian public sector workers set for 400% pay rise

The Syrian caretaker government plans to hike public sector salaries by 400 percent next month after completing an administrative restructuring, the country’s finance minister said Sunday. Public sector workers currently earn around $25 per month, putting them below the poverty line. The increase, estimated to cost 1.65 trillion Syrian pounds, or about $127 million at […]

A woman crosses a street in Damascus. In most parts of Syria, electricity is available for just two or three hours a day

Qatar and Turkey to send electricity-generating ships to Syria 

Syria will receive two electricity-generating ships from Turkey and Qatar to boost its energy infrastructure, which was badly damaged during the rule of President Bashar Al Assad, state news agency SANA reported on Tuesday. Khaled Abu Dai, director general of Syria’s General Establishment for Electricity Transmission and Distribution, told SANA the ships would provide 800 megawatts of electricity but did not specify over what period. “The extent of damage to the generation and transformation stations and electrical […]

A man living in Al-Yarmouk refugee camp in Syria. The US is easing restrictions on providing humanitarian aid

US to ease Syria aid restrictions but sanctions remain

The United States is to announce imminently an easing of restrictions on humanitarian aid and other basic services such as electricity to Syria. The strict US sanctions regime placed on Syria will remain, according to people briefed on the matter. The Wall Street Journal reported that the Biden administration approved the easing of restrictions over […]

Oil workers in Iraq. The country's oil exports are increasingly headed to Asia, leading some to question the necessity of rebuilding the Syria pipeline

Assad’s fall spurs calls to revive Iraq-Syria oil pipeline

The overthrow of the former Syrian president, Bashar Al-Assad, has brought calls for the revival of the now-defunct pipeline that once carried crude oil from Iraq to a Syrian port on the Mediterranean. Several Iraqi experts have urged their government to consider rebuilding the facility as an outlet for the Opec member’s oil exports to […]