Saudi Arabia signs major investment deals to help rebuild Syria
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Saudi Investment Minister Khalid Al-Falih (centre left) and his delegation are received at Damascus International Airport by their Syrian counterparts.
PHOTO: AFP
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- Saudi Arabia signed US$6.4 billion in deals with Syria to rebuild infrastructure and telecommunications.
- The agreements include building cement factories and enhancing cyber-security capabilities, signalling economic cooperation.
- The UN welcomed the lifting of sanctions on Syria, urging infrastructure reconstruction to aid human rights.
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DAMASCUS - Saudi Arabia on July 24 signed major investment and partnership deals with Syria, valued at US$6.4 billion (S$8.2 billion), to help rebuild the war-ravaged country’s infrastructure, telecommunications and other major sectors.
The oil-rich Gulf kingdom has been a major backer of the new Syrian government, which seized power after an Islamist-led offensive toppled long-time Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad
Speaking at the Syrian-Saudi Investment Forum at Damascus’ presidential palace, Saudi Investment Minister Khalid Al-Falih announced “the signing of 47 agreements and memoranda of understanding... with a total value of nearly 24 billion Saudi riyals (around S$8.2 billion)”.
With Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and other officials in attendance, Syria’s Economy Minister Mohammad al-Shaar, called the forum “a historic milestone in the history of relations between our two brotherly countries”.
Mr Falih said 11 billion riyals would be spent on infrastructure and would see the construction of three cement factories.
Saudi telecommunications companies would invest four billion riyals “with the aim of developing infrastructure and enhancing cyber-security capabilities”, he added.
Other sectors including agriculture and finance are also expected to benefit from major agreements.
On July 24, UN experts welcomed the lifting of sanctions on Syria by the US and other Western states, saying it “opens promising pathways to recovery”.
“We urge the interim government to prioritise the reconstruction of sustainable infrastructure and public services to fulfil the wide range of human rights at risk in Syria,” they said in a statement.
Syria’s 14-year civil war devastated much of the country’s infrastructure and its new leaders are hoping to receive international support for reconstruction efforts, which the UN estimates could cost more than US$400 billion.
Earlier in July, US President Donald Trump formalised the dismantling of US sanctions
He had already lifted most of the measures in May, responding to appeals from Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
In May, Syria signed a US$7 billion energy deal with a consortium of Qatari, Turkish and US companies to help revive its electricity sector. AFP
