Syrian President Ahmad Al Shara on Friday welcomed the permanent lifting by the US of its so-called Caesar sanctions, paving the way for the return of investments to his country.
President Donald Trump on Thursday repealed the Caesar Act sanctions on Syria, when he signed the National Defence Authorisation Act for Fiscal Year 2026 into law.
The Senate passed the bipartisan legislation this week with a vote of 77 to 20. The bill was passed by the House of Representatives last week.
The Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, signed into law in 2019, was aimed at members of the regime of former president Bashar Al Assad, who were accused of war crimes and human rights abuses.
“Today is the first day that Syria is without sanctions, thanks to God Almighty, and then to your efforts and patience for 14 years,” Mr Al Shara said in a recorded video in the first post of his official X account.
He gave his “special thanks to [US] President Donald Trump... for responding to the call of the Syrian people, and to the members of Congress for recognising the sacrifices of the Syrian people.”
Mr Trump had already twice suspended the implementation of sanctions against Syria in response to pleas from Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
But Mr Al Shara had sought a permanent end to the sanctions, fearing that as long as the measures remained they would deter businesses wary of legal risks in the US, the world’s largest economy.
The repeal of the sanctions requires a review of the situation in Syria every 180 days over the course of four years to ensure that Damascus is taking appropriate action in areas including fighting ISIS, removing foreign fighters from government roles, and upholding religious and ethnic minority rights.
If the US government finds that the Syrian government is off track in these goals, the bill stipulates that it can impose sanctions on people until Damascus adjusts course.
Earlier on Friday, a Syrian Foreign Ministry statement welcomed the step, calling it “an entrance to the phase of reconstruction and development”.
It urged “all Syrians in the country and abroad to contribute to national recovery efforts”.
“It also renews its call to investors from brotherly and friendly countries, as well as to Syria businesspeople, to explore investment opportunities and participate in reconstruction,” the statement added.
