Latest news with #SyriaEconomy
CNA
01-07-2025
- Business
- CNA
Trump dismantles Syria sanctions programme as Israel ties eyed
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump on Monday (Jun 30) formally dismantled US sanctions against Syria, hoping to reintegrate the war-battered country into the global economy as Israel eyes ties with its new leadership. Trump lifted most sanctions against Syria in May, responding to appeals from Saudi Arabia and Türkiye after former Islamist guerrilla Ahmed al-Sharaa ended a half-century of rule by the Assad family. In an executive order, Trump terminated the "national emergency" in place since 2004 that imposed far-reaching sanctions on Syria, affecting most state-run institutions including the central bank. "These actions reflect the president's vision of fostering a new relationship between the United States and a Syria that is stable, unified and at peace with itself and its neighbours," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement. Rubio said he would start the potentially lengthy process of examining whether to delist Syria as a state sponsor of terrorism, a designation dating from 1979 that has severely discouraged investment. He also said he would look at removing the terrorist classification of Sharaa and his movement Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which was once linked to Al-Qaeda. The United States already removed a bounty on Sharaa's head after he came to power. Brad Smith, the Treasury Department official in charge of sanctions, said the new actions "will end the country's isolation from the international financial system". Syria recently carried out its first electronic transfer through the international banking system since around the time it descended into a brutal civil war in 2011. The orders still maintain sanctions on elements of the former government, including Bashar al-Assad, who fled to Russia late last year. Syrian Foreign Minister Assaad al-Shibani hailed the US move as a "major turning point". "With the lifting of this major obstacle to economic recovery, the long-awaited doors are opening for reconstruction and development" as are the conditions "for the dignified return of displaced Syrians to their homeland", he wrote on X. ISRAEL SEES OPPORTUNITY Israel kept pounding military sites in its historic adversary after the fall of Assad and initially voiced scepticism over the trajectory of its neighbour under Sharaa, who has swapped militant attire for a business suit. But Israel said earlier on Monday that it was interested in normalising ties with Syria as well as Lebanon in an expansion of the so-called "Abraham Accords", in what would mark a major transformation of the Middle East. Iran's clerical state's once-strong influence in Syria and Lebanon has declined sharply under pressure from Israeli military strikes since the Oct 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas. Trump administration officials argued that lifting the sanctions on Syria would better integrate the country into the region and incentivise it to open up to Israel. Israel's intensive attacks on Iran in June opened a "window that has never existed", said Tom Barrack, the US ambassador to Türkiye who serves as Trump's pointman on Syria. "It's an opportunity that we have never, ever seen, and this president's put together a team that can actually get it done," Barrack told reporters. Despite his upbeat picture of the new Syrian leader, the country has seen a series of major attacks against minorities since the fall of Assad, a largely secular leader from the Alawite minority sect. At least 25 people were killed and dozens more wounded in a in Damascus on Jun 22.
Free Malaysia Today
20-06-2025
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
Syria expects first transfer with US bank ‘within weeks', says governor
The Syrian central bank has extended a formal invitation to US banks to re-establish correspondent banking ties. (EPA Images pic) DAMASCUS : Syria expects to have its first transaction with a US bank 'in a matter of weeks', Syrian central bank governor Abdelkader Husriyeh said today, a day after a high-level meeting between Syrian and US commercial banks. The resumption of transfers between Syrian and US banks would be a key milestone in the push by Syria's new rulers to reintegrate the country into the global financial system after 14 years of civil war. Yesterday, Husriyeh held a virtual conference bringing together Syrian banks, several US banks and US officials, including Washington's Syria envoy Thomas Barrack, with the aim of speeding up the reconnection of Syria's banking system to the global financial system. This follows US President Donald Trump's announcement in May that all sanctions on Syria would be lifted. That has been followed up with executive orders formally lifting some of the measures. Syria's reintegration into the global financial system would be a major step towards enabling the kind of large financial transactions needed to kickstart its reconstruction and economic activity, and help rein in a highly informal, cash-based economy. Husriyeh extended a formal invitation to US banks to re-establish correspondent banking ties following the ouster of former Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad, whose crackdown on 2011 protests resulted in Western countries imposing one of the world's strictest sanctions regimes. 'We have two clear targets: have US banks set up representative offices in Syria and have transactions resume between Syrian and American banks. 'I think the latter can happen in a matter of weeks,' Husriyeh told Reuters. Among the banks invited to yesterday's conference were JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley and CitiBank, though it was not immediately clear who attended.
CTV News
02-06-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Damascus stock exchange reopens after 6-month closure
Syrian Finance Minister Mohammed Yisr Barnieh, center, attends the opening ceremony at the Damascus Securities Exchange in Damascus, Syria, Monday, June 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki) DAMASCUS — Trading resumed on the Damascus Securities Exchange Monday after a six-month closure, as Syria's new leaders attempt to shore up the country's battered economy and begin rebuilding after nearly 14 years of civil war. The stock exchange had closed during the chaotic days leading up to the ouster of former President Bashar Assad in a lightning rebel offensive. Syrian Finance Minister Mohammed Yisr Barnieh, who attended the reopening, said that it signals that the country's economy is beginning to recover and that 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,' state-run news agency SANA reported. He said the country's new leaders plan to 'facilitate business operations and open doors to promising investment opportunities.' The move to reopen comes as international restrictions on Syria's financial systems begin to ease. The United States and Europe both last month announced the lifting of a wide raft of sanctions that had been slapped on Syria under the Assad dynasty's rule. Last week, Syria inked a power deal worth $7 billion with a consortium of Qatari, Turkish and U.S. companies for development of a 5,000-megawatt energy project to revitalize much of Syria's war-battered electricity grid. The consortium led by Qatar's UCC Concession Investments — along with Power International USA and Turkey's Kalyon GES Enerji Yatirimlari, Cengiz Enerji — will develop four combined-cycle gas turbines with a total generating capacity estimated at approximately 4,000 megawatts and a 1,000-megawatt solar power plant. Ghaith Alsayed, The Associated Press
The Independent
02-06-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Damascus stock exchange reopens after 6-month closure
Trading resumed on the Damascus Securities Exchange Monday after a six-month closure, as Syria 's new leaders attempt to shore up the country's battered economy and begin rebuilding after nearly 14 years of civil war. The stock exchange had closed during the chaotic days leading up to the ouster of former President Bashar Assad in a lightning rebel offensive. Syrian Finance Minister Mohammed Yisr Barnieh, who attended the reopening, said that it signals that the country's economy is beginning to recover and that 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,' state-run news agency SANA reported. He said the country's new leaders plan to "facilitate business operations and open doors to promising investment opportunities.' The move to reopen comes as international restrictions on Syria's financial systems begin to ease. The United States and Europe both last month announced the lifting of a wide raft of sanctions that had been slapped on Syria under the Assad dynasty's rule. Last week, Syria inked a power deal worth $7 billion with a consortium of Qatari, Turkish and U.S. companies for development of a 5,000-megawatt energy project to revitalize much of Syria's war-battered electricity grid. The consortium led by Qatar's UCC Concession Investments — along with Power International USA and Turkey's Kalyon GES Enerji Yatirimlari, Cengiz Enerji — will develop four combined-cycle gas turbines with a total generating capacity estimated at approximately 4,000 megawatts and a 1,000-megawatt solar power plant.
Al Arabiya
02-06-2025
- Business
- Al Arabiya
Damascus stock exchange reopens after 6-month closure
Trading resumed on the Damascus Securities Exchange Monday after a six-month closure, as Syria's new leaders attempt to shore up the country's battered economy and begin rebuilding after nearly 14 years of civil war. The stock exchange had closed during the chaotic days leading up to the ouster of former President Bashar al-Assad in a lightning armed opposition offensive. Syrian Finance Minister Mohammed Yisr Barnieh, who attended the reopening, said that it signals that the country's economy is beginning to recover and that 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,' state-run news agency SANA reported. He said the country's new leaders plan to 'facilitate business operations and open doors to promising investment opportunities.' The move to reopen comes as international restrictions on Syria's financial systems begin to ease. The United States and Europe both last month announced the lifting of a wide raft of sanctions that had been slapped on Syria under the al-Assad dynasty's rule. Last week, Syria inked a power deal worth $7 billion with a consortium of Qatari, Turkish and US companies for development of a 5,000-megawatt energy project to revitalize much of Syria's war-battered electricity grid. The consortium led by Qatar's UCC Concession Investments — along with Power International USA and Turkey's Kalyon GES Enerji Yatirimlari, Cengiz Enerji — will develop four combined-cycle gas turbines with a total generating capacity estimated at approximately 4,000 megawatts and a 1,000-megawatt solar power plant.
