The first British-Syrian business delegation since the fall of Bashar Al Assad is on its way to Damascus, despite continuing sanctions and security risks keeping the gates into Syria half-closed.
The trip will be marked by the Damascus launch of the Syrian British Business Council on Sunday, after an inaugural event was held in London earlier this month.
There is optimism about opportunities for business and organisations seeking to get involved in the country's recovery, following the collapse of the Assad regime in December.
But investors are treading cautiously as US sanctions have yet to be officially lifted and security risks – including repeated Israeli incursions into Syria, remain.
British MPs who wanted to attend the trip were told that additional security was not required, a source told The National. The UK Foreign Office did not respond to requests for comment from The National.
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al Shaibani met British Syrian business leaders in London during his first official visit to the UK this month. He was also attending the UK launch of the council.
Zaha Hadid Architects, which recently announced its plans to rebuild Damascus Airport with a new terminal and five-star hotel through $4bn in Qatari funding, is among the business council’s members, alongside EY and Scotland-based renewable energies consultant Xergy.
Mr Al Shaibani said the government would work round the clock to “introduce to the world the importance of Syria” during his visit to the UK.
“There are very important files in Britain and we seek to seize this historic opportunity to strengthen relations. Syria is no longer a marginal state but one that matters to all nations,” he said.
Many British Syrians once had important businesses ties to Syria, which they were forced to sever because of the civil war and sanctions on the former Assad regime.
But after the toppling of Al Assad, there is hope that Syria is emerging from economic isolation. Syrian businesspeople and diplomats in the UK have been trying to engage London’s financial community, to encourage investment in Syria.
The business council is headed by Baroness Emma Nicholson, veteran leader of the Iraqi Britain Business Council, while Labour MP David Taylor is the vice president.
The UK lifted sanctions against Syria earlier this year and the US will soon repeal its Caesar Act which imposed crippling sanctions on Damascus in 2020. Hayat Tahrir Al Sham, the armed group that Syrian President Ahmad Al Shara led to power, has been removed from the terror list.
But challenges in rebuilding business ties to Syria are immense.
Rime Allaf, author of It All Started in Damascus, a memoir of the civil war, said there is palpable “frustration” with the slow pace of sanctions relief in Syria, among ordinary people who are feeling the effects of high inflation and still live amid the war’s ruins.
“I’m very positive about the future of Syria but, in the short term, unless there is a little bit of liquidity or relief by injecting aid, if Syrians were to see some rebuilding begin, it would give them a sense of collective hope that they [international community] kept their word,” she said.
The “last small hurdle” remains the lifting of the Caesar Act. Although the US Senate has already passed a draft bill to repeal the legislation, the House of Representatives must also approve it.
US President Donald Trump has sought to buy time by issuing six-month sanctions waivers, but these are not sufficient to attract major investments in the long term, Ms Allaf said.
“There's going to be a lot of money to be made in Syria,” she said.
But countries and investors needed “certainty that if they're bringing in the big guns” they can “safely invest”, she added.
Israel's repeated incursions into Syria in the name of removing Iranian elements and protecting the minority Druze community are also seen by the business community as a security risk that could deter investment.
Israel struck the town of Beit Jinn in Damascus's countryside on Friday, with a ground assault and air strikes that killed civilians.
Ann Snow, the UK's special representative for Syria, condemned the attack.
“The continuation of Israeli incursions in Syria – including reports of civilian casualties this morning – is unacceptable,” she said on social media. “We urge Israel to respect Syria's sovereignty and the integrity of its territory, and to fulfil its obligations towards peace, stability, and security.”
