Finance Minister Yasser al-Baraani and Central Bank of Syria Governor Safwat Rusal discussed in Bangkok with the Managing Director of the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, Fawzi al-Hanif, ways to address Syria's existing debts to the Fund, resulting from previous projects implemented by the Fund in Syria over the past decades.
The Ministry of Finance clarified in a post on its Telegram channel on Wednesday that the meeting took place on the sidelines of the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group, and covered exchanging views on finding a suitable mechanism to reschedule Syria's debts under concessional terms, and the proposals to be discussed in the coming weeks to reach a fair settlement.
Resuming the Fund's Development Activities
The two sides discussed ways to resume the Fund's development activities in Syria, particularly providing maintenance services for projects implemented in previous years that require rehabilitation. They also discussed opportunities for Syria to benefit from the Arab Fund's Small and Medium Enterprises Support Facility (BAADAR Fund), which is dedicated to supporting the private sector, and ways to accelerate financing procedures for this sector through this facility.
Supporting Syria's Stability and Enhancing Sustainable Development
Managing Director Fawzi al-Hanif emphasized the Fund's commitment to supporting Syria's stability and enhancing sustainable development, expressing interest in cooperating with other development institutions in the region to explore opportunities for financing joint projects. Al-Hanif added that the Fund is interested in arranging a dialogue session on Syria, within the framework of the coordination meetings of Arab and regional institutions and funds.
The meeting was attended by Syria's representative at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Youssef al-Faris. In a related context, the Finance Minister and the Central Bank Governor earlier on Wednesday discussed with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) ways to support projects and investments in Syria, with the presence of the World Bank's Syria Department Director.
Source: Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA)
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