The Governor of the Central Bank of Syria Abdul Qadir al-Hasriya confirmed that his country will not resort to external borrowing, stressing that this decision comes under the direct guidance of President Ahmad al-Shara'a, as part of a national plan to restructure the Syrian economy and enhance its independence.
In statements reported by the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) on Friday, al-Hasriya said that Syria "will not borrow from the International Monetary Fund or the World Bank, and there will be no linkage of the Syrian pound to the dollar or the euro." He noted that the country has entered a phase of "monetary and banking openness" after years of financial isolation.
He pointed out that the Syrian pound's exchange rate has improved by 30% since the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in late 2024, and he expects the distortions in the exchange rate to end in the coming months, leading to a unified exchange rate between the official and black markets.
Al-Hasriya revealed a package of measures to boost confidence in the banking sector, most notably the establishment of a deposit insurance institution in Syrian banks and the provision of mortgage loans to Syrians residing abroad, with the aim of attracting capital and encouraging investment.
In a move considered historic, al-Hasriya announced that Syria had executed its first direct international bank transfer in 13 years via the SWIFT system last June, from a local bank to an Italian bank. This coincided with European and American decisions to ease sanctions on Damascus.
The Central Bank Governor concluded his statement by emphasizing that the government seeks to build a "healthy, production- and export-based economy," without relying on debt or high interest rates. He noted that the investment environment is now ripe for stable returns after decades of challenges.
In early July, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order ending US sanctions imposed on Syria since 2011, which al-Hasriya described as "the strong push the Syrian economy needs to embark on reconstruction."
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