News

On May 11, a bipartisan group of lawmakers in the United States House of Representatives introduced the Assad Anti-Normalisation Act, sending a clear message of disapproval to Arab countries that have re-engaged the Syrian regime.

Syria has been readmitted into the Arab League more than a decade after its seat was frozen, marking a significant development in its reintegration into the Arab world. The decision will provide Damascus with a political boost and may encourage other countries in and outside of the Arab world to normalise and improve relations with Syria.

Although Jordan is at the forefront of rapprochement efforts with the regime, its air force allegedly launched two airstrikes over southern Syrian territory, killing an infamous drug lord and destroying a drug factory. The strikes came less than a week after Damascus agreed to tackle drug trafficking on its border with Jordan and Iraq and days after Amman seized its largest captagon shipment of the year.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resource has inaugurated a new gas well in the Homs governorate. 

Although the government increased its tobacco procurement prices, local tobacco farmers have complained that the prices remains below production costs.

A crypto trading company based in the United States agreed to pay USD 7.59 million to settle its violations of sanctions against Syria, Crimea, Cuba, Iran, and Sudan. 

During Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi’s recent visit to Syria, the Iranian and Syrian governments signed several memorandums of understanding to bolster economic and trade ties and resolve several pending issues that have hindered economic relations between the two countries for over a decade. However, despite the commotion around the visit, it seems to have yielded limited results so far.

Around 39 percent of the funding requirements for the Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan for Syria were met last year, according to the UNHCR and UNDP.

The Syrian pound has fallen to another historical low after crossing the SYP 8,000 threshold against the dollar on the black market. 

Iran’s President Ibrahim Raisi will visit Damascus this week, the first time an Iranian head of state visits the country in 13 years, according to Iranian officials, state-owned media outlets, and sources close to the Syrian government. Ahead of the visit, Syrian and Iranian economic bodies held high-level meetings and prepared agreements that are planned to be signed during the president’s visit.

The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria has issued a law regulating the operations of foreign exchange dealers as the sector gains increasing importance. The law’s timing is a reminder of the importance of remittances for the Syrian economy and of foreign exchange dealers at a time western sanctions are restricting the operations of local banks.

The E.U. Council recently blacklisted 33 regime-affiliated individuals and entities, including regime financiers, narcotics dealers, and an NGO allegedly run by Asma Al-Assad.

The balance sheet of Syrian private sector banks grew last year, as deposits by public sector entities surged, according to official financial reports by the banks. The influence of the presidential palace can be seen in the large lending portfolio of two banks.

Only half of the funding requirements for Syria’s Humanitarian Response Plan were reached in 2022, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

The number of companies established last year in Syria by Iranian investors dropped significantly, according to official data.

A recent increase in employee salaries by the Syrian Salvation Government and the AANES has highlighted the increasing gap with salaries paid by the Syrian government.

The Emirati Red Crescent Society sheds light on its ongoing humanitarian operations in government-held areas since the earthquake.

A new report surveying the varying socio-economic conditions in IDP camps across all four zones of control in Syria.

The value of misappropriated public funds in Syrian state institutions increased by 409 percent last year, according to official data.

Due to conflict-induced deforestation activities, perennial crop losses have reached up to USD 950 million, while some areas have reportedly lost up to 90 percent of their tree-covered areas, new report says.