Syria’s new government plans to adopt a free-market model and integrate into the global economy, the chief of the largest Syrian business lobby said on Tuesday.
This decision is a major departure from decades of State control
“It will be a free-market system based on competition,” Bassel Hamwi, head of the Damascus Chambers of Commerce, told Reuters in an interview.
The world is closely watching the evolving situation in Syria, three days after rebel forces toppled President Bashar al-Assad, ending a 54-year family autocracy.
Like most Syrians, prominent Syrian businessmen are trying to figure out how Syria’s new administration led by an Islamist-rooted group, will run the country.
The Syrian businessmen welcomed signals that the economy would be open to investment which is vital to rebuilding from widespread devastation after 13 years of civil war.
But they said they still wanted to see whether Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the former al Qaeda offshoot which has since disavowed those ties and led the rebel offensive, will deliver.
“People are still waiting to see if it will be an open society or an Islamic state,” a Beirut-based Syrian businessman said.
Hamwi was speaking a day after meeting a government delegation headed by Syria’s interim Economy Minister, Bassel Abdul Aziz.
Syria has long imposed strict controls on imports and exports.
It uses an arcane system that requires traders to get permission for imports and then deposit Syrian pounds at the central bank in exchange for dollars.
The funds often only arrived days or weeks later, causing delays and contributing to shortages of basic goods.
Independently trading in foreign currencies could previously land someone in jail, but has become common practice in daily transactions since Assad’s ouster.
Hamwi said he has learnt that the stifling customs system would be done away with, fulfilling a major demand of traders and industrialists.
“Everyone who registers at the chambers will be able to import the goods they want into the market, within a specific system,” he said.
Reuters spoke to four prominent Syrian businessmen who said the message from the new authorities appeared encouraging.
They said that it a far cry from a system that was heavily controlled by a small cohort of loyalist businessmen close to the Assad family.
Western sanctions, the destruction of the major commercial and industrial cities of Aleppo and Homs during 13 years of war, and the loss of foreign currency earnings from oil exports all combined to shatter the economy.
Damage is estimated in tens of billions of dollars.
Before street protests against Assad’s rule erupted in March 2011, the Syrian pound stood at around 50 to the dollar.
It is now at over 15,000, turbo-charging inflation that leaves many shopkeepers struggling to price their goods.
Economists are of the view that stabilizing and opening up the economy is crucial for encouraging desperately needed fresh investment and the potential return of millions of Syrians.
Many educated middle class Syrians also fled from the war.
“Syria has a huge, educated, relatively wealthy diaspora which will want to rebuild the country. They could be growing double digits for years,” said a senior regional financial official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Hamwi said he had been fielding constant calls from Syrian businessmen abroad keen to understand how the new government would approach trade.
He said he was urging them to return home.
“They will be the most important contributor to the development of Syria,” he said.
The head of the Damascus Chambers of Commerce further noted that massive investment is needed for reconstruction, industry and services.
(With inputs from Reuters)
