Syrian Arab News Agency S A N A
Davos, SANA- The Syrian economy will be open, and we will work to attract foreign investments. We want to establish partnerships with countries all over the world, Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said.
Al-Shaibani made these statements during a televised event with former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair about Syria and its economic future during the World Economic Forum “Davos 2025” in Switzerland.
Al-Shaibani said “we inherited a collapsed state, but we have great investment opportunities as Syria has diverse economy and an important geographical position”.
He noted that the most important priorities of the government are communications, roads, ports, education, health and energy sectors.
“Since the first week, we have been able to return children to their schools and students to their universities. We must invest in the education sector due to its importance in building Syria’s future,” the Foreign Minister affirmed.
He added “we do not want to rely on humanitarian aid, rather, we want to build Syria with our own hands, and we have established partnerships with the Gulf states to enhance the energy sector, especially electricity”.
He went on to say “we will turn challenges into opportunities. We have refugees all over the world who have various experiences, and we need this added value to build Syria”.
“Sanctions are the most prominent challenge facing Syria. Syrian people are badly affected by these sanctions,” al- Shaibani said, asserting that the Syrian people should not be punished.
“The Syrians had been waiting for the international community to intervene to liberate them, but we are the ones who achieved that. Today the Syrians feel hope and the achievement we are proud of is that no sectarian war occurred in the country and what happened in Syria was a success story”, a-Shaibani went on to say.
He affirmed that transitional justice and accountability are the task of the government, not the people, and the law protects the rights of groups and women, stressing that Syria will be governed by the law, not by a specific ideology.
He reaffirmed that Syria will not pose any threat to any country, as Syria has now opened a new page regarding its relations with all countries of the world.
Al-Shaibani concluded “we will build our future country by following the footsteps of inspiring examples such as Singapore and the Saudi Vision 2030, with much creativity, innovation and development.”
Manar Salameh/ Ruaa al-Jazaeri
