Berlin, SANA- Foreign and Expatriates Minister, Asaad al-Shaibani, stressed that the economic sanctions imposed on Syria are tying the hands of its people and must be lifted to achieve economic rise.
Al-Shaibani said during a dialogue session with the participation of Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan within the Munich Security Conference in Germany: “The economic sanctions were imposed on the ousted regime, and they should have been removed with its fall. It is true that there were exceptions from the United States and Europe, but they are not enough, and all sanctions must be lifted to open the way for the Syrian people, and this will be a guarantee for its stability”.
Minister al-Shaibani said that if a solution to the sanctions is not found and Syria is unable to link the Central Bank with the SWIFT international financial system, this will hinder the reconstruction process as well as enable Syrians to return to their normal lives, as there are two million in the camps, and therefore the sanctions must be lifted.
Al-Shaibani pointed out that the new Syrian administration inherited a destroyed economy from the deposed regime, and the incomes of the average citizen are very low, but there is no surrender in the face of this reality, as work will be done to restore stability to the Syrian pound and to introduce reforms in the Ministry of Finance and other ministries, with the aim of reforming the economy that was exhausted by the policies of the overthrown regime.
The Foreign Minister underlined that diversity in Syria supports its strength and that the world will be surprised by the awareness of Syrians in the issue of representing themselves.
Al-Shaibani added that the Syrian people are determined to achieve national interests, and they need to be given the opportunity to demonstrate their success, stressing that achieving victory at the hands of the Syrians without international intervention is the greatest achievement.
Al-Shaibani said that “Israel” is destabilizing the region, and it must abide by the 1974 disengagement agreement, stressing that the occupied Golan is Syrian land and no one has the right to give it to anyone.
The minister expressed Syria’s aspiration to have good relations with the new US administration, as the two countries have a common interest in many matters that can be agreed upon.
For his part, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said: “The new Syrian administration has taken the right steps in dealing with the issue of stability and unification of military factions, and we have a real opportunity for the first time to solve the problems in Syria, after more than 10 years of instability.”.
Fidan affirmed Turkey’s support for Syria’s unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity, indicating that his country is working to help Syria in reconstruction, support the economy and build institutions.
In turn, UN envoy to Syria Geir Pedersen said that 18 million people in Syria need aid, stressing that the Syrian economy cannot be reformed unless economic sanctions are lifted.
Pederson pointed out that the two priorities in Syria are to represent everyone and achieve security, and we are approaching March 1, when the world will hear important decisions, as we need to see a real, comprehensive government in Syria.
MHD Ibrahim
