In April last year, just months after Bashar Al Assad’s regime fell in Syria, Saudi Arabia and Qatar agreed to settle that country’s outstanding debts to the World Bank. At just $15 million, the amount was small enough to, perhaps, prompt a double-take among those paying attention. But it highlighted the extent of Syria’s isolation from the global economy, and the international community at large, during much of the Assad family’s five-decade rule. Without access to the international banking sector and limited access to international markets, Syria missed out on decades of opportunities.
The new leadership in Damascus has exerted strenuous efforts to end this isolation, and they achieved a major milestone this week, when the US State Department removed their country from its list of state sponsors of terrorism – a list that includes Iran, Cuba and North Korea – after 47 years.
The decision is the latest move from Washington to restore Syria to the global community, having previously rescinded sanctions imposed under the Caesar Act that penalised international companies, investors and individuals for providing support to the Assad regime.
Senior American officials were quick to celebrate the latest announcement. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the move will encourage investment and promote Syria’s political and economic stability. Tom Barrack, Washington’s presidential envoy to Damascus, put it more simply: “Today, another wall comes down.”
For millions of Syrians, that wall has been real. The designation contributed to decades of restrictions that made international banking, investment and trade more difficult, adding to the economic damage inflicted by war and other sanctions. People couldn’t access the latest products and technologies, including – notably – software such as MS Word.
The delisting should make it easier for Syrian businesses and individuals to conduct international transactions; for investors to loosen their purse strings; and for reconstruction projects to secure financing. Imports could become easier and cheaper. Remittances from Syrians abroad could flow back more easily.
Gulf-based companies have already begun setting billions of dollars into rebuilding the country’s various sectors; now multinational corporations from elsewhere in the world might be more willing to explore opportunities. If investment follows, jobs could eventually return.
All of this matters for a country emerging from a long and brutal civil war, and even longer years of financial mismanagement.
Syrian President Ahmad Al Shara described the US’s decision as an achievement of the people. Having endured conflict, displacement and economic hardship, the psychological importance of the removal of sanctions should not be underestimated.
Delisting, however, is not a magic wand. Syria still has enormous problems: damaged infrastructure, weak institutions, political uncertainty, security concerns, a fragile currency and the legacy of war. Investors will want to see evidence that the country is genuinely stable, and that contracts and banking arrangements are secure.
For their part, ordinary Syrians will judge the significance of this decision based on tangible improvements it makes to their daily lives. That, of course, will take time.
Nonetheless, another wall has indeed come down. The task for the country, then, is to replace these walls with bridges, roads and tunnels en-route to a more stable, secure and prosperous future.
