DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — The World Bank said Friday that the $15.5 million Syria owed it has been paid off by Saudi Arabia and Qatar, clearing Damascus to take out new loans.
Saudi Arabia and Qatar had announced plans last month to clear Syria’s outstanding debts, a move that Syria hailed as paving the way for recovery and reconstruction after a 14-year conflict that killed half a million people and caused wide destruction in the country.
The debt was owed to the World Bank’s International Development Association, a fund that provides zero- or low-interest loans and grants to the world’s poorest countries.
“We are pleased that the clearance of Syria’s arrears will allow the World Bank Group to reengage with the country and address the development needs of the Syrian people,” the World Bank said in a statement.
In added that “the first project in our reengagement with Syria is centered on access to electricity.”
Months after a lightning insurgency unseated former Syrian President Bashar Assad and ended the civil war that decimated much of the country’s infrastructure, severe electricity shortages continue to plague the country.
The United Nations estimates that 90% of Syrians live in poverty and state-supplied electricity comes as little as two hours every day. Millions of Syrians cannot afford to pay hefty fees for private generator services or install solar panels to supplement the meagre supply.
In March, Qatar began supplying Syria with natural gas through Jordan to ease the long hours of electricity cuts.
However, Western sanctions imposed on the country during the Assad dynasty’s rule have posed an obstacle to development and reconstruction projects.
Earlier this week, during a regional tour during which he met with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia, U.S. President Donald Trump said he would move to lift the sanctions, clearing the way for investments in Syria.
Tree_Complete on May 16th, 2025 at 23:40 UTC »
For Syrian refugees displaced, dispossessed and dispersed worldwide does this mean they can now begin to return?
magcargoman on May 16th, 2025 at 23:29 UTC »
The next 5-10 years will be really REALLY interesting for the Syrian rebuild. If it somehow comes back from being a pariah state, it’ll be a model for how to rebuild other countries ravaged by political instability.
Straight_Ad2258 on May 16th, 2025 at 22:32 UTC »
For Saudi Arabia, the fall of Assad is a dream come true
A powerful Iranian puppet state is gone. Saudi gets a clean slate where it can build influence again
Syria was responsible for 90% of world's Captagon drug production, which wrecked havoc upon all neighboring countries.
If you wonder how the Arab equivalent of US fentanyl crisis looks like, it was the Captagon crisis. Hundreds of thousands to millions of lives destroyed do to it in the Arab world
And now it's dying out.
And most importantly, they get dibs on Syrian reconstruction investments and real estate for years to come.