Economy

A representative from the Federation of Syrian Chambers of Commerce, strongly connected to Iran, recently participated in an Arab-French Economic Summit organised in Paris. It was the first time since the beginning of the Syrian popular uprising in March 2011 that the French capital hosted a representative from an official Syrian business group.

The U.S. and the U.K. together added to their sanctions programmes 11 Syrian individuals involved in drug production and trafficking. The Caesar Act was used for the first time in years.

Official records indicate that regime-affiliated businessmen are continuing to set up new companies and expand their investments.

The Syrian President has amended the investment law to attract capital into the real estate sector. The text comes after the earthquake and as relations with the Gulf warm.

The International Labour Organisation recently agreed to provide grants to support the Damascus Chamber of Industry and the General Federation of Trade Unions in their post-earthquake recovery, a few weeks after appointing its first country coordinator in 11 years.

Syria’s gross domestic product will shrink for the third consecutive year in 2023, according to a recent publication from the World Bank.

President Bashar Al-Assad has ratified a law that provides financial waivers for people affected by the February 06 earthquake in areas under regime control. 

The Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Protection plans to add new commodities, including earthquake-related aid, to Syria’s electronic smart card. 

The World Bank recently estimated Syria’s direct economic losses after the February 06 earthquake at around USD 5.10 billion, with Idlib overwhelmingly impacted.

The Syrian government has produced an analysis of the latest OFAC licence facilitating payments to Syria. It asks local institutions, particularly state entities, to capitalise on the licence to boost funding from abroad.

Over a month after earthquakes devastated northern Syria and southern Turkey, local populations and governments are still reeling from the damages and consequences of the crisis.

While the February 06 earthquake has increased diplomatic activities between Syria and the Arab world, Damascus will likely remain relatively isolated. Sanctions will also largely remain in place for the foreseeable future.

Since the earthquake devastated southern Turkey and northern Syria on February 06, government-held areas have witnessed a 30-percent increase in the price of food and other essential commodities, further burdening ordinary Syrians reeling from the natural disaster, deteriorating living conditions, and an acute economic crisis. Meanwhile, the Syrian government has failed to respond adequately, sparking widespread criticism.

Although political normalisation between Damascus and Cairo may pave the way for a more important role for Egypt-based Syrian entrepreneurs, Syrian businesspersons continue to face economic and political barriers both in Egypt and their home country, according to a new report.

Since the devastating earthquakes struck northern Syria and southern Turkey two weeks ago, rapprochement between several Arab countries and the Syrian regime has escalated significantly. Notably, President Bashar Al-Assad visited Oman for the first time in over a decade, a few days after Jordan and Saudi Arabia publicly supported dialogue with Damascus. 

Over 6,000 people have been killed and more than 26,000 injured after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake and aftershocks, the largest of which was 7.6 in magnitude, struck southern Turkey and northern Syria within a space of 12 hours in the early morning of February 06. 

The earthquake that struck Syria on February 06 will significantly impact the country’s economic activity, which is already suffering from a series of serious challenges.

The 7.8-magnitude earthquake at the Syria-Turkey border on February 06 is the strongest to have struck Syria for more than eight hundred years.

Governments and international organisations worldwide have offered aid and assistance to Syria after the recent earthquake. However, aid response and coordination efforts have been hampered by the destruction of roads and highways, weather conditions, fuel shortages, and territorial fragmentation across regime-opposition political lines, among other things.

By the middle of last year, inflation had already reached 55 percent, according to a new consumer price index issued by an independent Syrian organisation. Meanwhile, the government has lifted one of the last tools it used to keep a lid on prices, risking further price increases.