ABOARD THE TCG ALEMDAR: In blazing sunlight, two dozen US and Turkish sailors on a NATO exercise lower an American diving bell from an advanced Turkish rescue ship, sending it deep under the Aegean Sea where it is secured to a submarine.
Part of a combined NATO rescue simulation this week off Turkey’s southwest coast, the seamless cooperation at sea comes amidst a storm between Ankara and its alliance allies who are concerned about its decades-old commitment to the organization.
Under President Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey, with NATO’s second-biggest army, has sought to bolster ties with Russia and Iran.
In a clear sign of rapprochement, Ankara is buying a missile defense system from Russia — unnerving NATO officials, who are already wary of Moscow’s military presence in the Middle East, as the system is incompatible with the alliance’s systems.
Turkey said it opted for the S-400 anti-aircraft system because Western arms suppliers had not offered a “financially effective” alternative. The Pentagon said it expressed concern to Turkey about the deal.
“They went crazy because we made the S-400 agreement. What were we supposed to do, wait for (them)?” Erdogan said recently.
“If we have difficulty in obtaining any defense element from some places, if our initiatives are often frustrated by obstacles, what will we do? We will sort it out on our own.”
Erdogan’s frustration stems from Washington’s support for the Syrian Kurdish YPG in the fight against Daesh. Ankara sees the YPG as an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has carried out an insurgency in Turkey’s largely Kurdish southeast and is considered a terrorist organization by the United States and Europe as well as Turkey.
Angered by indictment
The president was also angry that US prosecutors charged his former economy minister for conspiring to violate US sanctions on Iran. The indictment marked the first time an ex-government member with close ties to Erdogan had been charged in the investigation that has strained relations between Washington and Ankara.
“Part of the reason Erdogan is doing this S-400 deal is he’s angry with the US over the indictment of the former economy minister as well as continued US cooperation with the YPG,” said Soner Cagaptay, a fellow at the Washington Institute think-tank and author of “The New Sultan: Erdogan and the Crisis of Modern Turkey.”
“He’s using the S-400 as a lever, in terms of bargaining, to convince Washington to change its mind on a number of issues.”
Ties with Europe, especially Germany, were hit by Turkey’s crackdown after last year’s failed coup. Some 150,000 people were purged from the civil service, military and private sector and over 50,000 jailed, including German nationals.
Alarmed by what it sees as Ankara’s deteriorating record on human rights, Germany has said it would restrict some arms sales to Turkey. It initially announced a freeze on major arms sales, but scaled that back, citing the fight against Daesh.
Ankara also refused to allow German lawmakers to visit their troops stationed at an air base in Turkey. This has led Germany to move troops involved in the campaign against Daesh from Turkey’s Incirlik base to Jordan.
Not an alternative
Turkey rejects the idea it is turning away from the West.
“The good relations Turkey has developed with Russia are not an alternative to the good relations it has with the West, they complement each other,” Erdogan spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said.
Erdogan told Reuters in an interview on Thursday that Turkey’s position in NATO had not been weakened by the deal. Still, some fear Turkey might eventually find itself at the periphery of the alliance.
“Germany is our most important supplier of weapons after the United States,” said Umit Pamir, a former Turkish diplomat. He said the suspension of arms sales, would “surely impact our defense systems.”
Erdogan has been on a push to improve ties with Moscow after Turkey’s economy, particularly its tourism industry, was shaken by sanctions imposed by Russia after Turkey shot down one of its warplanes over Syria in late 2015.
He is due to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin next week to discuss a plan agreed by their countries and Iran to reduce the fighting in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province.
Different sides in Syria
Turkey supports rebels against Syrian President Bashar Assad, who is backed by Russia and Iran.
Erdogan plans to visit Iran next month. The two countries agreed in August to boost military cooperation when Iran’s military chief, Gen. Mohammad Baqeri, met Erdogan in a visit. The trip was the first by an Iranian military chief of staff to Turkey since the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran.
While they back opposite sides in Syria, Ankara and Tehran have found some common ground over their opposition to the Kurdish independence referendum in Iraq. Both countries fear that an independent Kurdish state could inflame separatists tensions with their Kurdish minorities.
Recent discord over the S-400 purchase did not signal a drastic break from NATO for Turkey, said Mustafa Kibaroglu, a professor of international relations at Turkey’s MEF University. He said the West had over-reacted to the purchase.
“I don’t think there is any debate about Turkey leaving an alliance it has invested so much in,” Kibaroglu said.
“Are we going to bring down US planes with our S-400s?” he said. “There is no backbone to these comments, it is purely political polemics, and we are not the ones doing this.”
Turkish missile deal with Russia reflects stormy ties with NATO
Turkish missile deal with Russia reflects stormy ties with NATO
Israel may change tack to allow aid groups in Gaza to stay in charge of non-food aid
- The group says it plans to handle food aid, initially from a handful of hubs in southern and central Gaza with armed private contractors that would guard the distribution
TEL AVIV, Israel: As pressure mounts to get more aid into Gaza, Israel appears to be changing tack and may let aid groups operating in the battered enclave remain in charge of non-food assistance while leaving food distribution to a newly established US-backed group, according to a letter obtained by The Associated Press.
The development indicates Israel may be walking back from its plans to tightly control all aid to Gaza and prevent aid agencies long established in the territory from delivering it in the same way they have done in the past.
Israel accuses Hamas of siphoning off aid but the United Nations and aid groups deny there is significant diversion. The UN has rejected Israel’s plan, saying it allows Israel to use food as a weapon, violates human humanitarian principles and won’t be effective.
Israel had blocked food, fuel, medicine and all other supplies from entering Gaza for nearly three months, worsening a humanitarian crisis for 2.3 million Palestinians there. Experts have warned of a high risk of famine and international criticism and outrage over Israel’s offensive has escalated.
Even the United States, a staunch ally, has voiced concerns over the hunger crisis.
The letter, dated May 22, is from Jake Wood, the head of the Israel-approved Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, or GHF, and is addressed to COGAT, the Israeli military agency in charge of transferring aid to the territory.
It says that Israel and GHF have agreed to allow non-food humanitarian aid — from medical supplies to hygiene items and shelter materials — to be handled and distributed under an existing system, which is led by the United Nations. UN agencies have so far provided the bulk of the aid for Gaza.
The foundation would still maintain control over food distribution, but there would be a period of overlap with aid groups, the letter said.
“GHF acknowledges that we do not possess the technical capacity or field infrastructure to manage such distributions independently, and we fully support the leadership of these established actors in this domain,” it said.
The foundation confirmed the authenticity of the letter. A spokesman for GHF said the agreement with Israel came after persistent advocacy. While it acknowledged that many aid groups remain opposed to the plan, it said GHF will continue to advocate for an expansion of aid into Gaza and to allow aid groups’ work in the enclave to proceed.
COGAT declined to comment on the letter and referred the AP to the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which did not respond to a request for comment.
UN officials also did not reply to requests for comment.
Unclear who is funding GHF
The GHF, which is not yet up and working in Gaza, is run by security contractors, ex-military officers and humanitarian aid officials, and has the backing of Israel.
The group says it plans to handle food aid, initially from a handful of hubs in southern and central Gaza with armed private contractors that would guard the distribution. Additional sites will be opened within a month, including in northern Gaza.
The letter says aid agencies will continue providing food assistance in parallel to the GHF until at least eight sites are up and running.
Aid groups have been pushing back on the GHF and Israel’s plans to take over the handling of food aid, saying it could forcibly displace large numbers of Palestinians by pushing them toward the distribution hubs and that the foundation doesn’t have the capacity to meet the needs of the Palestinians in Gaza.
It’s also unclear who is funding the GHF, which claims to have more than $100 million in commitments from a foreign government donor but has not named the donor.
’Functioning aid’
The letter says that GHF’s Wood was on a call with the CEOs of six aid groups discussing the new plans, including Save the Children, International Medical Corps, Catholic Relief Services, Mercy Corps, CARE International and Project HOPE.
Rabih Torbay, head of Project HOPE, confirmed the call and said his organization was encouraged to hear that the delivery of medicines and other non-food items would continue under the current system.
Still, Torbay appealed for food aid to be allowed into Gaza without “obstruction or politicization.”
A spokesperson for CARE said it has shared its concerns regarding GHF’s proposal for food distribution in the hubs and reiterated the importance of using existing distribution mechanisms under the UN The spokesperson said the meeting was an opportunity to ask a lot of questions, but CARE’s attendance was not an endorsement of the effort.
Mairav Zonszein, a senior analyst on Israel for the International Crisis Group, says the letter is a clear sign that both Israel and the GHF recognize the humanitarian catastrophe people face in Gaza and the need for immediate aid.
“The GHF and Israel are clearly scrambling to get something that works — or at least the appearance of functioning aid — and that this mechanism is not ready or equipped or fitting for the needs of the population in Gaza,” Zonszein said.
Ahmed Bayram, Middle East spokesperson for the Norwegian Refugee Council, said that Israel is part of the conflict and should not be in control of the aid distribution.
“Israel interfering in parts or all of that process would be damaging to the independence and neutrality of humanitarian aid,” Bayram said.
Humanitarian principles
The GHF came under more scrutiny this week, with TRIAL International — a Geneva-based advocacy group focusing on international justice — saying Friday that it was taking legal action to urge Swiss authorities to monitor the group, which is registered in Switzerland.
The foundation’s spokesperson has insisted that it abides by humanitarian principles and operates free from Israeli control. The spokesperson, speaking anonymously under the foundation’s policy, told the AP earlier this week that it is not a military operation and that its armed security guards are necessary for it to work in Gaza.
The war in Gaza began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and abducting 251 others. Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count.
Syria reboots interior ministry as Damascus seeks to reassure West
- The restructure includes “strengthening the role of the anti-drug department and further developing its importance within Syria
DAMASCUS: Syrian authorities on Saturday announced an interior ministry restructuring that includes fighting cross-border drug and people smuggling as they seek to improve ties with Western nations that have lifted sanctions.
Keen to reboot and rebuild nearly 14 years after a devastating civil war broke out, the new authorities in Damascus have hailed Washington’s lifting of US sanctions.
The move was formalized Friday after being announced by President Donald Trump on a Gulf tour this month during which he shook hands with Syria’s jihadist-turned-interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa.
Spokesman Noureddine Al-Baba said the interior ministry restructure included reforms and creating “a modern civil security institution that adopts transparency and respects international human rights standards.”
It includes setting up a citizens’ complaints department and incorporating the police and General Security agency into an Internal Security command, he told a press conference.
A border security body for Syria’s land and sea frontiers will be tasked with “combating illegal activities, particularly drug and human smuggling networks,” Baba said.
The restructure includes “strengthening the role of the anti-drug department and further developing its importance within Syria and abroad” after the country became a major exporter of illicit stimulant captagon, he added.
Another department will handle security for government facilities and foreign missions, as embassies reopen in Syria following Bashar Assad’s ouster in December.
A tourism police body will secure visitors and sites as the war-torn country — home to renowned UNESCO World Heritage sites — seeks to relaunch tourism.
Syria’s foreign ministry welcomed Washington’s lifting of sanctions, calling the move “a positive step in the right direction to reduce humanitarian and economic struggles in the country.”
Turkish foreign ministry spokesperson Oncu Keceli said the recent US and European Union steps to lift sanctions were “of critical importance in efforts to bring stability and security to Syria.”
The European Union announced the lifting of its economic sanctions on Syria earlier this month.
Sharaa met President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday on his third visit to Turkiye since taking power on a visit to discuss “common issues,” Syria’s presidency said.
Ankara is a major backer of Syria’s new authorities, who are negotiating with Kurdish forces that control swathes of the northeast and that Turkiye considers “terrorists.”
A government delegation made a first visit Saturday to the notorious Al-Hol camp in the northeast that hosts families of suspected Islamic State (IS) group jihadists.
Trump said he wanted to give Syria’s new rulers “a chance at greatness” after their overthrow of Assad.
While in Istanbul, Sharaa met with the US ambassador to Turkiye, who doubles as Washington’s Syria envoy.
In a statement, Tom Barrack said: “President Trump’s goal is to enable the new government to create the conditions for the Syrian people to not only survive but thrive.”
He added that it would aid Washington’s “primary objective” of ensuring the “enduring defeat” of IS.
US sanctions were first imposed on Syria in 1979 under the rule of Bashar Assad’s father Hafez.
They were sharply expanded after the bloody repression of anti-government protests in 2011 triggered Syria’s civil war.
The new administration has been looking to build relations with the West and roll back sanctions, but some governments expressed reluctance, pointing to the Islamist past of leading figures.
The sanctions relief extends to the new government on condition that Syria not provide safe haven for terrorist organizations and ensure security for religious and ethnic minorities, the US Treasury Department said.
Concurrently, the US State Department issued a 180-day waiver for the Caesar Act to make sure that sanctions do not obstruct foreign investment in Syria.
The 2020 legislation severely sanctioned any entity or company cooperating with the now ousted government.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the waiver would “facilitate the provision of electricity, energy, water and sanitation, and enable a more effective humanitarian response across Syria.”
However, Rubio cautioned that Trump “has made clear his expectation that relief will be followed by prompt action by the Syrian government on important policy priorities.”
He said lifting the sanctions aims to promote “recovery and reconstruction efforts.”
Syria’s 14-year civil war killed more than half a million people and ravaged its infrastructure.
The interior ministry’s spokesman said around a third of the population had been under suspicion by the Assad government’s feared intelligence and security services.
Analysts say a full lifting of sanctions may take time, as some US restrictions are acts that need to be reversed by Congress.
Syrian authorities also need to ensure an attractive environment for foreign investment.
Libya says oil leak occurs in pipeline south of Zawiya city
- The NOC posted a picture showing a stream of leaked oil in the desert
An oil leak forced the shutdown of a pipeline south of Libya's city of Zawiya, the National Oil Corporation (NOC) said on Saturday.
Zawiya, 40 km (25 miles) west of the capital Tripoli, is home to Libya's biggest functioning refinery, with a capacity of 120,000 barrels per day. The refinery is connected to the country's 300,000-barrels-per-day Sharara oilfield.
The NOC posted a picture showing a stream of leaked oil in the desert. Flow from the Hamada oilfields through the affected pipeline was immediately halted, the company said in a statement.
"In parallel with the maintenance work, a team of specialists is conducting an investigation to determine the causes of the leak. Arrangements and coordination are also underway to recover the leaked oil and address any resulting environmental pollution," the company added.
Lebanon army says receives suspect in Christian party official’s killing
- Pascal Sleiman of the Lebanese Forces Christian party was abducted and killed in April 2024
- The army had said he was killed in a carjacking by Syrian gang members
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s army said Saturday it had taken into custody a suspect in last year’s killing of a Christian political official, with help from Syria’s new authorities, in a case that sparked public outrage.
Pascal Sleiman, a coordinator in the Byblos (Jbeil) area north of Beirut for the Lebanese Forces (LF) Christian party, was abducted and killed in April 2024.
The army had said he was killed in a carjacking by Syrian gang members who then took his body across the border.
The army received “one of the main individuals involved in the crime of kidnapping and killing” Sleiman after coordinating with Syrian authorities, a military statement said.
The suspect “heads a gang involved in kidnapping, robbery and forgery and has a large number of arrest warrants against him,” the statement said, adding that investigations were underway.
Sleiman’s LF party opposed Syria’s longtime ruler Bashar Assad, who was ousted in December, as well as its Lebanese ally Hezbollah, which last year was engaged in cross-border fire with Israel that escalated into all-out war.
Beirut and Damascus have been seeking to improve ties since the overthrow of Assad, whose family dynasty for decades exercised control over Lebanese affairs.
Anti-Syrian sentiment soared after Sleiman’s disappearance and death, in a country hosting hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees.
Some accused Hezbollah of having a hand in the killing, but then chief Hassan Nasrallah, who was later killed in a massive Israeli air strike, denied his party was involved.
The LF had said it would consider Sleiman’s death a “political assassination until proven otherwise.”
Will sanctions relief unlock Syria’s potential, spur economic recovery?
- With US and EU restrictions easing and the diaspora mobilizing, Syria’s entrepreneurs are cautiously eyeing a path to renewal
- The future may depend less on oil, and more on whether people believe it is safe to come home — and stay, analysts say
LONDON: In a dramatic shift in US foreign policy, President Donald Trump recently pledged to lift sanctions on Syria — a move that has sparked cautious optimism among Syrian entrepreneurs eyeing a long-awaited path to economic recovery after years of war and isolation.
The announcement was quickly followed by a high-profile meeting in Riyadh on May 14 between Trump and Syria’s interim president, Ahmed Al-Sharaa, ahead of a broader summit of Gulf leaders during Trump’s regional tour, signaling a renewed emphasis on diplomatic engagement with Damascus.
Hosted by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the meeting marked the most significant international overture to Syria since the fall of Bashar Assad’s regime in December.
It also marked the first meeting between a sitting US president and a Syrian head of state in more than 20 years.
Further cementing this policy change, the US on Saturday issued a six-month waiver of key Caesar Act sanctions, authorizing transactions with Syria’s interim government, central bank, and state firms. The move also clears the way for investment in energy, water, and infrastructure to support humanitarian aid and reconstruction.
In a further boost, the EU announced on May 20 that it would follow the US lead and lift its own remaining sanctions on Syria. “We want to help the Syrian people rebuild a new, inclusive and peaceful Syria,” EU foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, posted on X.
Analysts believe that these developments suggest a thaw in relations, opening the door to future cooperation, particularly in rebuilding Syria’s war-ravaged economy.
“Lifting sanctions is a necessary and critical measure,” Syrian economic adviser Humam Aljazaeri told Arab News, highlighting that a key sector poised to benefit is energy, particularly electricity generation.
Syria’s energy infrastructure has been decimated by more than a decade of civil war and sanctions.
Before the conflict erupted in 2011, Syria produced about 400,000 barrels of oil a day, nearly half of which was exported, according to the Alma Research and Education Center.
Since then, oil and gas output has plunged by more than 80 percent, as fields, refineries and pipelines were destroyed or seized by warring factions, according to World Bank data.
Power generation dropped 56 percent between 2011 and 2015, the local newspaper Al-Watan reported at the time. Today, daily blackouts — sometimes lasting 20 hours — are a grim feature of life across Syria.
Beyond energy, Aljazaeri highlighted the humanitarian sector as another area in urgent need of relief. If sanctions are lifted, Syria “would enjoy a frictionless flow of programs through various UN and other international agencies,” he said.
That relief cannot come soon enough. The UN estimates that 16.7 million Syrians — roughly three-quarters of the population — will require humanitarian aid in 2025. Syria is now the world’s fourth most food-insecure country, with 14.5 million people in need of nutritional support.
Despite the scale of need, international funding remains woefully short. As of late February, only 10 percent of the $1.2 billion required for early 2025 humanitarian operations had been secured, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Even when funds are available, getting aid to those in need is an ongoing logistical challenge. Continued conflict, insecurity and decimated infrastructure — especially in the hard-hit northern and northeastern regions — make delivery slow and difficult.
Conditions are worsening. Severe drought this year threatens to wipe out up to 75 percent of Syria’s wheat crop, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, placing millions at even greater risk of hunger.
The crisis is further compounded by the return of about 1.2 million displaced Syrians between December and early 2025. Many have returned to towns and villages in ruins, overwhelming humanitarian services.
While sectors such as transport and trade could see quick wins if sanctions are eased, Aljazaeri cautioned that a full recovery would require time and clearer international policy direction.
“Sectors like infrastructure, health, education and general business are not expected to move quickly in the interim period,” he said. “These areas need a clearer international policy on sanctions and a more stable investment climate.”
Lifting sanctions is a necessary and critical measure
Humam Aljazaeri, Syrian economic adviser
For now, Aljazaeri said, the US is expected to offer only limited relief — temporary exemptions and executive licenses for 180 days — before reassessing its stance, potentially through a broader congressional review.
“This piecemeal approach won’t provide enough assurance for serious investors,” he said. “Against this backdrop, it is important to see how the government will act in the coming weeks and months to justify further international integration and a more sustainable lifting of sanctions.”
Rebuilding Syria could cost between $400 billion and $600 billion, according to Lebanese economist Nasser Saidi.
Syria’s natural resources and its regional pipeline network could attract investors, he wrote in an essay for Arabian Gulf Business Insight magazine.
However, he emphasized that tapping this potential would require dismantling the country’s “corrupt, politically controlled, state-owned enterprises and government-related entities,” and reviving a vibrant private sector.
Some positive steps, however small, are already underway. The Karam Shaar Advisory, a New Zealand-based consulting firm, noted that 97 new limited liability companies were registered in Syria between Assad’s fall in December and March 26.
While the firm called it “a modest rise in formal company formation,” it said that economic stagnation persists.
Meanwhile, efforts to rebuild shattered infrastructure are gaining traction, particularly with the Syrian diaspora poised to play a role.
INNUMBERS
• 84% Syria’s GDP contraction between 2010 and 2023.
• $400–$600bn Syria’s projected reconstruction and redevelopment needs.
(Sources: World Bank & Nasser Saidi & Associates)
“Conversations are underway about involving all stakeholders to create enabling frameworks,” Mohamed Ghazal, managing director of Startup Syria, a community-led initiative supporting Syrian entrepreneurs, told Arab News.
Government buy-in will be essential. “Think tanks and task forces are working on this, but strong cooperation from the Syrian government is crucial — and there are promising signs in this direction,” Ghazal said.
He highlighted the diaspora’s potential to drive investment, skills transfer and community development. “There is a growing recognition that the Syrian diaspora can significantly contribute to ecosystem-building,” he said.
Still, many in the diaspora remain cautious. Ghazal said that the tipping point for engagement included sustainable peace, rule of law, property rights, improved governance, reduced corruption, investment incentives, infrastructure reconstruction and a coordinated international approach.
Aljazaeri echoed those concerns, noting that lifting sanctions alone would not stabilize Syria or improve living conditions. “Issues related to law and order, reconciliation and good policies are detrimental,” he said.
“In our view, it is not inflation, corruption, or cronyism that would pose a challenge at this stage, rather ‘right economics’ or the lack of it. The Syrian administration needs to demonstrate competency in running the economy and applying the necessary reforms.
“It has the power, maybe also the will, but must have the capabilities to do the right thing,” he said, stressing that “to do that, it needs to engage more and widen the pool of dialogue and trust.”
However, the path ahead remains fraught with dangers. Geir Pedersen, the UN special envoy for Syria, warned on Wednesday of “the real dangers of renewed conflict and deeper fragmentation” in the war-torn country.
Since Assad’s fall, Syria has seen new waves of violence, particularly along the coast, where his Alawite sect is concentrated. Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, the Islamist group that led the offensive that toppled Assad, now controls much of the area, which has been wracked by sectarian violence.
Reports of mass executions, looting and arson have heightened fears of renewed sectarian conflict. Al-Sharaa’s government is reportedly struggling to assert control, facing clashes with Druze in the south and standoffs with Kurds in the northeast.
“The Al-Sharaa government has two options in Syria; bring the minorities into government in a meaningful way so they feel invested in the future of the country and believe that they can protect themselves from within the state, or to suppress the minorities and force their compliance,” Joshua Landis, director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, told Arab News.
FASTFACTS
• By 2023, the Syrian pound had collapsed 300-fold from SYP47 per dollar in 2011 to over SYP14,000.
• Hack for Syria, a hybrid event held Feb. 22–28, drew 5,500 participants from Syria and abroad.
“So far, Al-Sharaa has been using both methods. With the Alawites, he has favored the second method — force. With the Druze and Kurds, he has offered deals.”
Despite the instability, experts argue the interim government and international partners can still take steps to foster investment and recovery.
“Temporarily unlocking frozen financial assets could provide a lifeline,” Aljazaeri said. “How those resources are used will define the government’s direction.”
Ghazal said that capital is urgently needed to fuel entrepreneurship. “Transparent financial channels, encouragement of diaspora investment and attraction of impact investors could bring necessary seed and growth capital,” he said.
He noted Syria’s growing startup scene, with more than 200 active ventures. Events such as the “Hack for Syria” hackathon, held from Feb. 22–28, showcased the country’s talent and drive to solve local problems.
“However, these entrepreneurs need support to scale and access global opportunities,” he said.
Sanctions imposed on the Assad regime and inherited by Al-Sharaa’s government targeted key sectors such as banking, transport and energy.
Syria’s gross domestic product plunged from $67.5 billion in 2011 to about $21 billion in 2024, according to the World Bank.
The sanctions cut Syria off from the global financial system, froze government assets and strangled trade — especially in oil — crippling state revenues and economic activity.
This contributed to widespread poverty, with more than 90 percent of Syrians forced below the poverty line.
As Syria emerges from more than a decade of turmoil, the lifting of US and EU sanctions offers a rare economic lifeline — and the possibility of a new chapter in its complex relationship with the West.
