Plenty of scope for trade between Turkey and Syria, says head of revived business council

Syrian minister calls for 'balanced' relations as Damascus seeks recovery from civil war

Syria's new leadership is trying to repair the country's economy from damage inflicted by war and sanctions. EPA

Syrian and Turkish business leaders should put aside fears about increasing economic ties, the head of the newly re-established Syria-Turkey Business Council has said.

Turkish companies, looking at huge opportunities in Syria’s reconstruction and economic renewal, are concerned about investing in a country with nearly 14 years of civil war behind it. Meanwhile, in Syria, there is concern that its neighbour’s economic superiority will leave domestic businesses on the sidelines, Syrian businessman Hussam Eddin Tatari told The National in Istanbul.

“These fears are rational, but they are not a reality. As long as we have great areas for mutual benefits, we will work in those areas,” said Mr Tatari, who runs a large textiles factory in the south-eastern Turkish city of Kahramanmaras.

“The scope for mutual benefits is very large but the work needs to be organised, data needs to be gathered and distributed to businesspeople on both sides.”

A delegation of dozens of businessmen from Syria, led by Minister of Economy and Industry Mohammed Nidaal Al Shaar, is visiting Turkey as the neighbours seek closer trade and political ties.

In a meeting with Syrian and Turkish business leaders in Istanbul, Mr Al Shaar welcomed “balanced” economic co-operation with Turkey. The relationship should be “sincere and balanced – the most important thing is that it is balanced,” he said.

Mohammed Saud Cheikh Alkar, president of Aleppo’s Chamber of Commerce, said he was less concerned than others about Turkey dominating Syria’s economy.

“Our people don’t want to just be consumers; there can be commercial exchange between us and all countries of the world, including our brotherly neighbour Turkey,” he told The National. “But we must develop ourselves and join the global economic cycle.”

The Syria-Turkey Business Council was re-established on Tuesday during meetings in Ankara, where Turkish and Syrian officials signed agreements to improve customs procedures, co-operation on industrial zones, and infrastructure reconstruction. Turkish banks are also considering opportunities in Syria, although none have officially begun operating there.

“A positive atmosphere is blowing in our economic relations with Syria in the new era,” Turkey's Trade Minister Omer Bolat said in a speech.

A power plant in Aleppo, Syria. Natural gas exports to Syria from Turkey and Azerbaijan have begun. Reuters

Turkey is aiming for a modern economic partnership agreement to replace the free trade agreement with Syria, which has been de facto inoperative since the uprising against former dictator Bashar Al Assad began in 2011.

Turkey has long supported groups opposed to Mr Al Assad and welcomed his removal into exile in December last year.

The two countries aim to increase trade volume in the short term to $5 billion – nearly double the trade volume of $2.6 billion last year, which mostly comprised Turkish exports to opposition-held areas of Syria by land crossings.

Turkey was among the first countries to reopen its embassy in Damascus after the fall of Mr Al Assad. Defence Ministry sources in Ankara recently confirmed that they are responding to requests from the Syrian capital to train and equip its new army. This month, Azerbaijani gas began to flow into Syria through Turkey, to power a 1,200-megawatt power plant and improve electricity supply for nearly five million Syrian households.

Syrian and Turkish business leaders and officials at a meeting hosted by Turkey's Foreign Economic Relations Board in Istanbul on August 6. Lizzie Porter/ The National

Construction is a key sector of interest for Turkish firms in Syria, given the need for rebuilding infrastructure, factories and homes damaged and destroyed in the conflict, Syrian and Turkish officials said. The estimated cost of reconstruction has varied from $250 billion and $500 billion.

Labour-intensive industries such as textiles and agriculture are also core targets, according to Mr Tatari. He has no plans to close his textile factory in Turkey, but is rebuilding a plant in Syria that was destroyed in the war. “My plan is that it will be ready for production by the end of the year,” he told The National.

Representatives from Syrian ministries and chambers of commerce said they were keen to draw on the experience of their northern neighbour, whose economy is worth $1.3 trillion and has a large manufacturing base, despite inflation running at 35 per cent.

Mr Alkar dismissed concerns that Syria would slip back into cycles of corruption that dominated Syrian industry under Mr Al Assad. “It needs time to change the corruption that the [former] regime sowed, and which led to the destruction of intellectual structures of our society, which contains a lot of good,” he said.