- Stocks resumed trading in Damascus, a promising sign for Syria’s recovery. With a new government in place and U.S. sanctions, leaders push to turn Syria into the sort of free-market economy that can attract the investments it needs to rebuild itself.
On Monday, the Syrian stock exchange reopened for the first time since President Bashar Al-Assad was deposed.
After a six-month hiatus, instituted just days before the toppling of Assad’s regime, the Damascus Securities Exchange resumed trading. The stock exchange closed in earlier December in the lead-up to the swift and clinical rebel offensive that ultimately took the capital and forced Assad into exile.
The Syrian finance minister Mohammad Yusr Barniyeh attended the opening ceremony in Damascus. At the event, he pointed to the stock exchange as a sign of Syria’s widespread economic recovery. The stock exchange “will operate as a private company and serve as a genuine hub for Syria’s economic development, with a strong focus on digital,” Barniyeh said according to comments reported by the state-run news agency SANA.
Reopening the stock market is part of Syria’s plans to rebuild the country and its economy after 14 years of civil war. The new Syrian government, helmed by former al Qaeda member Ahmed Al-Sharaa, pledged to operate under free-market principles rather than the state-controlled economy of Assad’s rule.
Barniyeh reiterated the importance of the private sector during his comments on Monday.
“Our approach is centered on fairness, equity, private sector leadership, and investment attraction,” he said. “We will facilitate business operations and open doors to promising investment opportunities.”
In an effort to ease Syria’s rebuilding, the U.S. and Europe both lifted the extensive sanctions it had placed on the country. Among the restrictions lifted were those banning U.S. citizens and companies from doing any business at all in Syria.
In recent weeks, Syria has already succeeded in securing some initial investments in the country, which was ravaged by more than a decade of war. A group of investors from the U.S., Qatar, and Turkey signed a $7 billion deal with the new Syrian government to develop an energy project projected to deliver about 5,000 megawatts. The deal, though, does not include direct involvement of U.S. companies; instead, the American subsidiary of Qatari energy company Power International will participate in the project.
The signing of the agreement featured the newly appointed U.S. ambassador to Syria Thomas Barrack, who urged the countries represented to weave “a tapestry of commerce and cooperation,” starting with the lifting of sanctions.
“President Trump made a bold decision that he would erase the bondage of 50 years in an instant,” Barrack said of U.S. sanctions at last month’s signing ceremony.
Elsewhere in the Arab world, Saudi Arabia also pledged additional economic and financial support to Syria. Saudi Arabia will finance public-sector salaries in an arrangement that also includes Qatar. In a meeting last week, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said investors from his country would visit Syria in the coming months to start looking into deals related to telecom, agriculture, infrastructure, and oil.
