وزير المالية السوري لـ CNBC عربية: نستهدف نمو الاقتصاد السوري بنسبة تصل إلى 3% العام المقبل
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00:00 I have with me now the Minister of Finance of Syria, Dr. Kanan Yaghi.
00:04 First of all, welcome to the Arabian Embassy.
00:06 Good evening to you all and to all the viewers.
00:10 First, what are the expectations of the Syrian economy during the coming year and also the targets of the coming year?
00:17 As is known to everyone, the Syrian economy has been greatly affected by the result of the terrorist war on Syria for 12 years.
00:25 The Syrian economy is currently in the recovery phase.
00:30 There are many motivational programs from the Syrian government for the private sector, local investors and foreigners
00:39 to boost the money in the affected sectors.
00:42 Therefore, we can say that the Syrian economy or the overall local economy
00:47 has started to see positive growth rates since 2023.
00:52 The targets for the coming year, God willing, are within the 2-3% range.
00:57 The Syrian government is doing everything it can to provide the required funding.
01:02 Revisiting the existing legislation over the past years,
01:06 adopting motivational programs, whether in terms of public finance, finance or economy,
01:11 there is a competitive investment law,
01:15 there are large programs for investment in terms of tax and public spending,
01:23 and therefore there is a large government project to restart the construction process
01:28 which will be the main and major driver of the local economy in the coming years.
01:32 This is in line with the government's measures, but what about the confidence of the foreign investors
01:37 to enter the Syrian economy and invest in its different sectors?
01:41 As we know, the investment sector is not ideal, not only in Syria, but in the entire Middle East
01:46 due to the ongoing security, political and economic crises.
01:52 The Russian-Ukrainian war is not far from us,
01:56 and it has a great impact on the supply chain, the global economy and the major inflationary issues.
02:01 Also, the security events in the region and the security and political conditions even inside Syria.
02:07 But we also know that the investors are a large share,
02:11 in terms of accepting risks, as we know in finance, high risk, high return.
02:17 So there is a share that prefers this kind of investment.
02:22 Currently, there is a great improvement in the investment climate in Syria,
02:27 in terms of security, political, government measures,
02:32 and the simple bureaucratic measures that make it easier to invest.
02:38 Are there any figures about the size of the foreign direct investment in Syria?
02:42 No, there are no real numbers.
02:45 But if we talk about the estimates of the international bank, the doing business,
02:50 we have actually reduced the period that the investor needs to get a license,
02:55 from about three months to a month or 20 days.
03:00 So the project is concentrated.
03:03 There are measures to facilitate and improve the investment climate.
03:07 There is, as I mentioned, a new investment law that was recently issued,
03:11 which has a lot of benefits and advantages,
03:14 and the law has become attractive and competitive to the investment laws in the region.
03:19 Of course, we are waiting for the security conditions to improve in the region,
03:23 so that the capital transfers or investment are greater.
03:28 We are part of the region.
03:30 Syria cannot work without the political and security conditions in the region.
03:33 But Mr. Mahli, the foreign investor is always looking for international reports
03:39 and the view of international institutions of the economy.
03:42 Syria is not up to the expectations of international institutions,
03:45 such as the Central Bank or the International Bank, in terms of growth expectations.
03:49 How will you change this view or the way you deal with international institutions?
03:53 Let's not forget that Syria has been subject to unlawful sanctions in the past ten years.
03:59 These sanctions were not issued by the Security Council, but by the US and the West.
04:02 These sanctions have actually limited the acceptance of foreign or foreign money,
04:08 or even Arab money, to enter Syria for investment.
04:11 These are severe sanctions that have harmed the Syrian economy a lot.
04:14 Currently, for about a year, channels have been opened with all Arab and international financial institutions.
04:20 We have a meeting today in Morocco with the International Monetary Fund and the International Bank.
04:27 For example, we have opened coordination channels, cooperation channels, and direct communication channels
04:34 to bring Syria back to its previous agreement in terms of financial, monetary and economic indicators.
04:41 These are indicators in the International Bank and the International Monetary Fund?
04:44 Of course.
04:45 There will be meetings in the coming days, God willing, with the financial institutions.
04:50 Syria will return to its previous status.
04:52 We know that these indicators are the main criteria for Syria's classification on the global investment map.
04:59 We will work on them very seriously in the coming stages.
05:02 There are also projects to restore the recovery and to create an attractive investment climate
05:10 for local, Arab and foreign investors in the coming days.
05:13 The global inflation, how has Syria dealt with it, whether through financial or monetary policies, and has it raised interest rates?
05:24 Yes, Syria has been subjected to a great deal of inflation.
05:27 The unilateral sanctions and the dollar depletion in the Middle East have had a great impact, not only in Syria,
05:32 but in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran, and in all the countries there.
05:36 There is a great deal of inflation.
05:37 The supply chains have been subjected to major problems, such as the third Ukrainian war.
05:41 All of this has raised food prices, advanced services, and the inflation of the countries.
05:48 All of this is under great inflationary pressure.
05:53 There are measures, whether on the financial level, in terms of managing public spending and directing it to the most efficient places.
06:01 There are also monetary measures in terms of interest rates and managing the monetary supply in the most efficient way.
06:07 There is a reduction in...
06:08 Have you raised interest rates many times?
06:09 Yes, the Central Bank of Syria has raised interest rates, but we do not forget that we need investment.
06:15 As we know, interest rates are a weapon of debt.
06:18 It has raised interest rates to manage the monetary supply in the market, and thus to manage inflationary pressures.
06:25 This is a positive effect, but on the other hand, it has affected the investment.
06:28 Therefore, there were programs to support interest rates for targeted sectors.
06:33 So, for example, interest rates...
06:35 For low-income households.
06:36 Yes, for low-income households. It has supported the public treasury so that we do not harm the investment sector.
06:42 Do you expect that Syria will continue to be on the path of the Central Bank of Syria in the policy of increasing the monetary supply or raising interest rates?
06:50 We have different approaches to inflationary measures.
06:54 As I said, there are financial policies from the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Syria that have increased the monetary supply.
07:01 But on the other hand, we are a country that has just come out of the war.
07:06 We must work to stimulate investment through programs to target certain sectors, especially real economies, such as agriculture and industry,
07:13 because these sectors are related to food security, health and other issues.
07:17 Today, I also mentioned in the meetings of the 24th General Assembly that developing countries pay inflationary interest rates twice.
07:25 As we know, a large part of inflation is the responsibility of developing countries.
07:31 We are talking about global inflation, whether it is in terms of global supply and demand or in terms of the contribution of developing countries in the global financial crises.
07:41 So, raising the prices of goods and services has affected the public finances of all countries.
07:47 In addition, when we come to the other issue, these countries are implementing measures to regulate inflation and raise the prices of global finance.
07:55 Developing countries also pay inflationary interest rates.
07:57 It has affected.
07:58 Yes, it has affected because the cost of borrowing and the cost of servicing debts has become a burden on public finances.
08:03 So, there must be flexible measures, measures that protect developing countries from the responsibility of international financial institutions
08:10 to be more responsible and reduce the impact on the finances of developing countries.
08:14 Thank you very much for this interview.