German Investment Eyes Return to Syria

With German institutions returning to Damascus and the opening of what is described as the “German House,” relations between Syria and Germany are entering a new phase of economic and developmental cooperation, opening the door to broader participation in vital sectors during the recovery and rebuilding phase. Engineer and economic researcher Samer Kaakarli discussed, in remarks to Al Ikhbariah, German investment opportunities in Syria, the scale of potential investments, promising sectors, and the conditions needed to improve the investment environment.

Syrian Community as an Economic Bridge

Kaakarli noted that Syrians residing in Germany can play multiple roles in strengthening economic ties between the two countries, whether as agents or representatives of German companies, translators, consultants, technical experts, or managers of joint ventures. He pointed out that the German Agency for International Cooperation, alongside its return to Damascus, affirmed the importance of involving Syrians in Germany in the rebuilding process and opening the way for new partnerships.

From Aid to Partnership

Kaakarli said the opportunity today is far greater than in previous years, but stressed the need to shift from the concept of aid and rebuilding to the concept of economic partnership and productive investment. Germany possesses technology, industrial expertise, management, and vocational training that Syria needs, while Syria offers a large market during the rebuilding phase and extensive needs in the energy, water, industry and agriculture sectors.

He noted that the German government's announcement of allocating more than 200 million euros to support rebuilding in Syria, along with backing reforms that create a more attractive environment for German investment, represents one indicator of this shift. The return of the German Agency for International Cooperation is another indicator of a move toward broader economic and developmental cooperation.

Promising Investment Sectors

Potential investment opportunities are distributed across sectors directly linked to the needs of the recovery phase, including:

• Energy: power generation plants, electricity networks, renewable energy, and energy storage, with indications of interest from German firms such as Siemens Energy.
• Water: developing water purification and management systems and sewage networks.
• Industry: genuine industrial partnerships between Syrian and German companies, particularly in pharmaceutical manufacturing.
• Agriculture: production chains from farming and output to processing, storage, cooling, packaging and export.

Knowledge Transfer as Core Value

Kaakarli considers technology transfer to be one of the most important values German investment can offer Syria, stressing the need to distinguish between selling equipment and genuine investment. He believes a German factory in Syria could become more than a production facility, turning into a platform for transferring knowledge, expertise, management, and technology. He added that the success of foreign investment should not be measured only by capital inflows or jobs created, but also by the number of Syrian companies that become more capable, and the engineers and workers who gain new skills.

On September 3, President Ahmad al-Sharaa held a roundtable meeting at the People's Palace in Damascus with Niels Annen, State Secretary at Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, along with a number of German company executives and members of the Syrian-German Business Council, to discuss enhancing economic and investment cooperation, expanding areas of partnership, and benefiting from investment opportunities available in Syria, particularly rebuilding projects.