Trade End sanctions on Syria, says Saudi Arabia By Edmund Bower January 13, 2025, 2:28 PM Nathan Howard/Reuters Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister, praised efforts by the new transitional government to preserve state institutions Still subject to 3,000 sanctions Saudis becoming important partners Business relationships thawing 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 the Syrian people to achieve development”. He called on Syria’s partners to “provide all forms of humanitarian, economic and capacity-building support”, and praised efforts by the new transitional government to preserve state institutions and hold inclusive governance talks. The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, who attended the talks, announced an EU meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels on January 27 to discuss the easing of sanctions. Syria remains subject to more than 3,000 economic sanctions, the third highest number of any country behind Russia and Iran. A roadmap for a new Syria Turkish exporters cashing in on end of Syrian conflict Assad’s fall spurs calls to revive Iraq-Syria oil pipeline Foreign ministers and representatives from 17 other countries were also present at the meeting, among them Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Turkey, the UAE, the UK and the US, which announced measures last week that would suspend select sanctions for a six-month period. Syrian officials have described the transitional government’s vision for the country’s economy as “a free-market system”, which could prove crucial in attracting much-needed foreign investment. The ultimate cost of reconstruction in Syria could reach between $400 billion and $600 billion. Saudi Arabia has emerged as an important partner to the new Syrian government. The country’s de facto ruler, Ahmed al-Sharaa, speaking with Al Arabiya last month, said the kingdom would play “a major role in Syria’s future”. Al-Sharaa himself was born in Riyadh and lived there until the age of seven. SPAPrince Faisal bin Farhan: ‘continuing sanctions will hinder the aspirations of the Syrian people to achieve development’ Shared history Syria’s caretaker foreign minister, Asaad al-Shaibani, chose to make his first foreign visit to Riyadh on January 1, where he told reporters that the new administration wanted “to open a new, bright page in Syrian-Saudi relations that befits the long shared history between the two countries”. In Lebanon, the newly appointed president, Joseph Aoun, announced on Saturday that his first foreign trip would be to Saudi Arabia, having accepted an invitation from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to visit Riyadh. No date has yet been announced for the visit. Recent political shifts in Syria and Lebanon, including the fall of Bashar Al-Assad and the weakening of Hezbollah, raise the prospect of a thawing in business relations between the two countries and Riyadh. Sanctions aside, Saudi Arabia and Syria have had almost no economic relationships since the outbreak of civil war in 2011. Similarly, although Saudi Arabia was a major financial backer of Lebanon through the 1990s and 2000s, Riyadh cut diplomatic ties with the country and suspended Lebanese imports in late 2021.