Damascus, Sept. 4 (SANA) President Ahmad al-Sharaa told a German business delegation that Syria has moved beyond the confidence-building stage and is ready to turn growing economic ties into concrete investment and reconstruction projects.
“We have moved beyond the stage of getting acquainted and building mutual trust. Now is the right time to begin work,” President al-Sharaa said during a roundtable meeting at the People’s Palace in Damascus on Thursday.
The meeting brought together Niels Annen, State Secretary at Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, executives of German companies and members of the Syrian-German Business Council. Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani, Energy Minister Mohammad al-Bashir and Central Bank of Syria Governor Safwat Raslan also attended.
The President said Syria has spent the past two years identifying challenges and removing obstacles to reconstruction, including sanctions and the country’s international isolation, while working to create conditions for major foreign companies to enter the Syrian market.
He said Syria offers investment opportunities across a wide range of sectors and urged German companies to take advantage of the reconstruction phase, noting that opportunities available now may not remain at the same level as the economy develops.
President al-Sharaa also highlighted Syria’s strategic importance as a regional corridor, saying stronger international support could accelerate production and economic recovery.
Foreign Minister al-Shaibani said the presence of a large German business delegation reflected the potential for closer bilateral ties and called for relations to expand beyond political and security cooperation into a broad economic partnership.
The German delegation said the return of German development institutions represented a concrete step in rebuilding ties. It cited the opening of the German House in Damascus and the resumption of operations by the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) and development bank KfW after a 14-year absence.
The delegation said the moves were part of implementing understandings reached during President al-Sharaa’s visit to Berlin. A representative of Siemens said the company was proud to support reconstruction efforts in Syria, while another delegation member said the group would return to Germany and Europe with a positive message about developments in the country.
President al-Sharaa visited Germany on March 29, meeting senior officials and representatives of major companies to discuss investment opportunities. He also visited Siemens Energy headquarters and attended the signing of a memorandum of understanding and an agreement in the energy sector.
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