IMF Names First Mission Chief To Syria In 14 Years

The International Monetary Fund has named Ron van Rooden as the head of its mission to Syria, according to a written statement by Syria’s Finance Minister Mohammed Yosr Bernieh. He is the first country mission chief appointed since the outbreak of war 14 years ago.

Bernieh said van Rooden’s appointment came “following our request” and he shared a post on LinkedIn, showing himself shaking hands with van Rooden while attending the annual IMF-World Bank Spring meetings in Washington, D.C.

“This important appointment marks an important step and paves the way for constructive dialogue between the IMF and Syria, with the shared objective of advancing Syria’s economic recovery and improving the well-being of the Syrian people,” Bernieh wrote.

The IMF press office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A source familiar with the IMF’s decisions on Syria confirmed van Rooden’s appointment.

According to the IMF’s website, Syria has had no transactions with the fund in the last 40 years. The last IMF mission trip to Syria was in late 2009, more than a year before protests against then-leader Bashar al-Assad erupted.

Syria 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.

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.

Bernieh and Syria’s central bank chief Abdelkader Husrieh are attending the annual spring meetings in Washington, the first time a high-level Syrian government team attends the meetings in at least two decades, and the first official visit by Syria’s new authorities to the U.S. since Assad’s fall.

On Tuesday, the Saudi finance minister and the World Bank co-hosted a roundtable on Syria. Bernieh, in a separate LinkedIn post, described the roundtable as “very successful” and said there was “unprecedented” interest in supporting Syria’s reconstruction.

A top official from the United Nations Development Programme told Reuters last week the agency is planning to deliver $1.3 billion in support to Syria over the next three years.

(With inputs from Reuters)