Syria will not resort to external debt, says central bank governor

Governor of the Central Bank of Syria, Abdul Qader Husariya, confirmed Friday that his country will not borrow from abroad.

"Syria, by order of President Ahmad al-Sharaa, will not resort to external debt, nor will there be any borrowing from the International Monetary Fund or the World Bank," he said in a statement reported by the Syrian news agency, SANA.

Husariya pointed out that the exchange rate of the Syrian pound has improved 30% since the fall of Bashar Al-Assad's regime in late 2024.

He explained that there is no intention to peg the Syrian pound to the US dollar or the euro, and the government “seeks to build a healthy economy based on production and exports, without relying on high interest rates or risky investment incentives.”

Husariya said that “the investment environment is now qualified to provide stable returns for investors after the Syrian economy entered, for the first time in seven decades, a phase of full recovery of activity in all its sectors.”

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order June 30, ending sanctions on Syria after the Assad regime cracked down on 2011 protesters.

That followed European decisions to ease similar sanctions on Syria, giving a strong boost to the Arab country's economy.

As part of restructuring the country's economic system, Al-Hassriya indicated, “A deposit insurance institution will be established in Syrian banks. It is also expected that distortions in the Syrian pound's exchange rate will end within months, with a unified exchange rate being reached. Real estate loans will be provided to Syrians abroad.”

“Syria has embarked on a new phase of monetary and banking openness, parallel to the beginning of the end of the decades-long isolation of the banking sector,” he added.

In June, Syria executed for the first time in 13 years, a direct international bank transfer from a local bank to an Italian bank via SWIFT, within the framework of European and American decisions to ease and lift obstacles.

Assad, Syria's leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia in December, ending the Baath Party regime, which had been in power since 1963.

A new transitional administration led by al-Sharaa was formed in Syria in January.