Syrian Arab News Agency S A N A
Vienna-SANA- Permanent Representative of Syria to the United Nations (Vienna), Ambassador Hassan Khaddour, confirmed that the terrorist and economic war on Syria had disastrous effects on all sectors, especially the industrial domain, indicating that the coercive economic measures imposed undermined Syria’s ability to advance this sector.
Ambassador Khaddour speaking at twentieth session of the General Conference of UNIDO said “Syria attaches great importance to close cooperation with the organization, appreciates the efforts it has made in supporting the development of Syrian industry, and looks forward to further work and cooperation with the organization, especially in light of the circumstances it has been exposed to for a year.
Ambassador Khaddour pointed out that “the industrial sector in Syria suffered great losses as a result of the war, as it ranked second in terms of the destruction caused by the war after the losses of the residential sector,” explaining that “70 percent of Syria’s industrial capacity was completely destroyed, whether through targeting factories by terrorists, or through stealing production supplies and smuggling them to some neighboring countries, the value of which is estimated at about 60 billion dollars, not to mention the loss of about a million job opportunities due to the destruction in the industry, agriculture, trade and services sectors.
Ambassador Khaddour stated that “the number of damaged private establishments counted in Damascus and its countryside, Aleppo, Hama and Homs amounted to about 4,200 facilities, and as for the public industrial sector, the crisis led to the exit of 49 companies, factories and gins from production,” adding: “What Syria needs to restore its industrial production is estimated at about $210 billion at the very least.
“In an effort to overcome these challenges, the Syrian government has issued the necessary legislation that meets the emerging needs of society, in line with the requirements of sustainable development.” Ambassador Khaddour pointed out.
Ambassador Khaddour indicated that the Syrian delegation “hopes that the organization will support additional projects in the field of textile industries, and support the pharmaceutical industries sector, as well as working to launch projects related to supporting artisans and craft industries to secure the equipment and production requirements necessary for work, and securing energy carriers by supporting them with renewable energy equipment.”
Ambassador Khaddour voiced hope that cooperation with the organization will be developed through its program that it is currently implementing to support the Syrian Arab Standards.
The Government of the Syria looks forward to establishing fair global partnerships based on respect for the principles of international law and the provisions of the UN Charter, in order to support the efforts of Syrian state institutions to overcome all challenges, Khaddour noted.
