Syria's Finance Minister Meets Senior European Delegation to Advance Economic Reforms and Debt-to-Investment Conversion

Meeting with European Commission and EIB

Syrian Finance Minister Mohammad Yasser Barniyeh held talks on 15 April with a high-level delegation comprising representatives of the European Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB), on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Spring Meetings. The delegation included Andrew McDowell, Director General of Operations at the EIB, and Michael Karnitschnig, Director General for the Middle East, North Africa and Gulf Affairs at the European Commission's Directorate-General.

Key Areas of Discussion

Discussions centred on three principal areas. First, the establishment of a knowledge, training and capacity-building centre that the European Union intends to launch in Syria, aimed at strengthening the readiness of national institutions. Second, the provision of targeted technical assistance to support the ongoing economic and financial reform agenda. Third, the European Commission's potential contribution to the Syria Without Camps initiative, which addresses the country's internal displacement crisis.

Debt Conversion and Investment Expansion

The two sides also discussed a forthcoming national strategy the Syrian government plans to launch to combat poverty and improve livelihoods, as part of broader economic and social recovery efforts. Talks further covered ways to expand European investment in Syria and explored the possibility of converting existing Syrian debt obligations into investments and grants, in support of the country's near-term economic and financial priorities.

Norway's Sovereign Fund Decision

On the same day, Minister Barniyeh welcomed Norway's decision to remove Syria from the government bond exclusion list of its sovereign wealth fund, valued at approximately 2.2 trillion US dollars. The Norwegian government's latest white paper, presented to parliament on 27 March, dropped Syria from the list while adding Iran, marking a notable shift in the fund's investment policy. The minister described the move as a strong indicator of growing international confidence in Syria's economic reform trajectory.

Syria's Financial Reintegration

These developments form part of Syria's accelerating efforts to reintegrate into the global financial system. The country has already reactivated its central bank's account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York for the first time since 2011, while the EIB has indicated its readiness to resume operations in Syria in line with broader European Union policy.