IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva said on Thursday that the International Monetary Fund intends to assist Syria in rebuilding its institutions and reintegrating into the global economy, following a meeting held this week on the war-torn country.
Georgieva told reporters that Syria’s central bank governor and finance minister attended the Spring Meetings of the IMF and World Bank this week for the first time in over 20 years.
“Our intention is to, first and foremost, help them rebuild institutions so they can plug themselves in the world economy,” she said.
Officials from the IMF and World Bank met with Syrian officials and other finance ministers and key stakeholders to discuss the country’s reconstruction on the sidelines of the meetings in Washington.
The high-level Syrian government delegation’s Washington trip marked the first U.S. visit by Syria’s new authorities since former President Bashar al-Assad was toppled in December.
Aftermath Of War
Assad’s crackdown triggered a full-scale war that left much of the country destroyed before he was ousted in a lightning rebel offensive last December, with an Islamist-led government now ruling the country.
Much of Syria’s infrastructure has been left in ruins by nearly 14 years of war sparked by the government authorities’ deadly crackdown on protests against Assad.
The Islamist-led government that took over after Assad was ousted has sought to rebuild Syria’s ties in the region and further afield and to win support for reconstruction efforts.
The new leaders have been keen to re-establish Syria’s ties regionally and internationally, rebuild the country and secure the lifting of tough U.S. sanctions to kickstart its economy.
But tough U.S. sanctions imposed during Assad’s rule remain in place.
In January, the U.S. issued a six-month exemption for some sanctions to encourage humanitarian aid, but this has had limited effect.
Reuters reported in February that efforts to bring in foreign financing to pay public sector salaries had been hampered by uncertainty over whether this could breach U.S. sanctions.
(With inputs from Reuters)
