Finance Minister Mohamed Yisr Barnieh announced on Tuesday that the first mission from the IMF’s Fiscal Affairs Department (FAD) has arrived in Damascus for a five-day visit to discuss technical assistance in preparing the national budget and improving government financial management.
Barnieh shared on Facebook that he welcomed the IMF team on Sunday, marking the first stage of technical cooperation. He noted that additional cooperation would take place in the coming weeks and months.
This visit follows Syria’s participation in the IMF and World Bank annual meetings in Washington. Barnieh also mentioned that agreements had been reached with the IMF on various technical assistance programs aimed at reforming Syria’s financial and banking sectors, enhancing public finance management, and improving statistical capabilities.
“The IMF will also send a series of missions to Damascus starting this week to advance these initiatives,” the minister said.
According to the post, the mission has a packed schedule of meetings at the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Syria, preparing a preliminary report on financial support.
