Normalisation

President Bashar Al-Assad’s handshake with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on September 22 marks a significant step in Syria’s reintegration into the global diplomatic sphere. Despite much fanfare, however, it is unlikely that promises by China's foreign minister Wang Yi’s “to take ties to a new level” will materialise into investments in Syria’s cash-strapped economy, given the recent decrease in China’s footprint in the country and Syria’s distressed business environment.

On September 14, police authorities in Dubai seized a shipment containing 86 million captagon tablets with an estimated street value of USD 1 billion. 

From new tour operators bringing foreign tourists to Syria to recent developments in tourism projects in Tartous, Lattakia or Palmyra; is the tourism industry having momentum?

Amid limited progress in the normalisation with Damascus, two recent meetings between Yemeni and Syrian officials seem to signal Yemen’s bid to bolster a rapprochement process stalled since Damascus’ return to the Arab League in May.

The World Bank and the Syrian Center for Policy Research released this week two separate reports analysing the impact of the earthquake in Syria’s war-torn economy.

The E.U. is suing Syria over its failure to repay decades-old loans from the European Investment Bank.