The annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank are underway in the U.S. capital, Washington, with a Syrian delegation headed by Minister of Finance Mohammed Yisr Barnieh.
In a speech delivered during the meetings, Minister Barnieh spoke about Syria’s ongoing reforms and the challenges it faces, affirming the importance of cooperation and support from international financial institutions.
“We participated in the annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank in Washington and attended the ministerial meeting of the Group of Twenty-Four (G24), which represents the voice of developing countries in international institutions. Syria is a founding member of the group.” Minister Barnieh stated in a Facebook post.
The meetings addressed numerous issues related to structural transformation policies aimed at supporting growth in Syria, financing needs to achieve sustainable development goals.
On the sidelines of the meetings, Minister Barnieh met with IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, who expressed her welcome for Syria’s return to the international institutional framework.
In the same context, Minister Barnieh held another meeting with Junaid Ahmad, Vice President of Operations at the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), a World Bank affiliate, to discuss cooperation opportunities with Syria.
The meeting explored MIGA’s role in supporting long-term financing from donor entities to contribute to reconstruction efforts in collaboration with the Syrian Development Fund. It also examined opportunities to establish savings programs for Syrians abroad, managed by investment experts, aimed at attracting significant remittances and offering rewarding retirement plans.
Among the topics discussed, according to Barniya, was MIGA’s role in providing guarantees to investors in Syria. He stressed that such guarantees are crucial for encouraging investors to hedge against non-commercial risks, thereby enhancing investment flows into the country.
Barnieh noted that there is significant interest from major investors and global companies seeking to invest in Syria. He revealed that swift steps were agreed upon to enable MIGA to provide these investment guarantees, considering it a top priority for attracting investment.
The Minister expressed optimism about making progress on the issue of investment guarantees, which he described as the biggest current obstacle. Addressing it, he said, would unlock investment flows into Syria. He also noted that a MIGA delegation is scheduled to visit Syria next month.
MHD Ibrahim
