Published On 17/11/2025
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Last update: 22:32 (Mecca time)
The International Monetary Fund said on Monday that it intends to implement an “intensive cooperation program” with Syria that includes providing technical assistance to improve the country’s economic data and pave the way for the resumption of periodic annual reviews of economic policies, after a team of Fund experts concluded a visit to Damascus.
The head of the Fund’s mission to Syria, Ron van Rooden, said in a statement, “The Syrian economy is showing signs of recovery and an improvement in prospects, which reflects improved consumer and investor confidence under the new Syrian regime and Syria’s gradual integration into the regional and global economy with the lifting of sanctions and the return of more than a million refugees.”
He added, “The financial discussions focused on formulating the government’s 2026 budget, which aims to increase fiscal space to meet basic needs, including supporting social sectors for the most vulnerable groups, while ensuring that it is based on ambitious and realistic assumptions regarding revenues and financing.”
Technical assistance
He continued, “International Monetary Fund experts will provide wide-ranging technical assistance to strengthen the financial framework by improving public finance and revenue management, completing new tax legislation, and developing a strategy to address Syria’s old debts and strengthen their management.”
He said, “It is important that the new tax system be simple, competitive and easy to administer, while avoiding generous exemptions. Likewise, as the authorities restructure state-owned companies and pursue large investment projects with the private sector, it is important to adhere to good governance standards and ensure that the Ministry of Finance plays a major role in assessing and monitoring potential contingent liabilities.”
He pointed out that the Fund’s staff will provide technical assistance to support the authorities in the following:
- Formulating new legislation and regulations for the financial sector.
- Rehabilitating payment systems and banking services, to ensure the financial system’s ability to facilitate safe and efficient payments, and to enable banks to resume their vital role in financial intermediation and support economic recovery.
- Rebuilding the capabilities of the Central Bank to ensure its ability to implement monetary policy and supervise the financial system effectively.
He added, “Reliable economic data is still scarce, but is essential to enable authorities to formulate, implement and monitor economic policies. Technical assistance will focus on improving statistics, which will also help pave the way for the resumption of Article IV consultations with Syria, as the last Article IV consultations with Syria were concluded in 2009. Technical support is currently being provided to improve national accounts data, and its scope will be expanded to include price statistics, balance of payments, government finances, and financial statistics.”