Türkiye pledges support for post-Assad Syria’s institutional development
An aerial view of the destruction caused by attacks from Bashar al-Assad's regime forces, which targeted sacred sites among other structures in Syria, is revealed on January 02, 2025. (AA Photo)
Türkiye will help Syria develop institutional capacity and address infrastructure deficiencies, Trade Minister Omer Bolat announced Thursday during an official visit to Damascus.
Trade Minister Omer Bolat spent two days in the Syrian capital meeting with government officials and business leaders, focusing on trade, customs, transportation, investment, finance, banking, contracting and energy partnerships.
Bolat held talks with Syria’s Economy and Industry Minister Nidal al-Sha’ar, Finance Minister Mohamed Yasser Barnia, Transportation Minister Yarub Suleyman Badr, and the head of land and sea ports, Kuteybe Ahmed Badawi.
During his meetings, Bolat congratulated Syria on what he called its “Dec. 8 revolution” last year, which ended the Assad regime after a 13-year civil war that severely impacted Türkiye.
“President (Recep Tayyip) Erdogan of the Republic of Türkiye and our government, our state, and our nation have stood by the Syrian people as a whole and have been very pleased with this revolution,” Bolat said. “It is our greatest prayer that Syria, as a government, state, and nation, will develop and grow in a strong stability and peace.”
Trade minister highlights historic opportunity for Türkiye, Syria
Trade minister emphasized that the two neighboring countries have “a historic opportunity” to develop relations across multiple dimensions.
“We emphasized that we are open to cooperation with the business world in a wide range of areas, from investment to services, infrastructure, trade in goods, in line with Syria’s needs and demands,” Bolat wrote on social media platform X about his meeting with Economy Minister al-Sha’ar.
Transportation was another key focus of the talks. After meeting with Transportation Minister Badr, Bolat noted they discussed more efficient customs transitions and the possibility of making Syria a transit hub.
“Based on the importance of strong transport and logistics networks for a strong economy, we evaluated the issues of faster and more efficient transitions through customs gates between our countries and the initiation of transit passages that will make Syria a transit base,” he wrote.
Speaking to members of the Damascus Chamber of Commerce, Bolat pledged Türkiye’s support for rebuilding Syria’s infrastructure, economy and institutions.
“Infrastructure, economic legislation, and institutional capacity are now being reestablished in Syria, and the government of Türkiye will support the development of institutional capacity and infrastructure deficiencies to the extent requested by the Syrian government,” he said. “Like all ministries in Türkiye, we have been instructed by our president to support Syria. The establishment of a new, free Syria here will be your work and we, as your Muslim brothers and neighbors, have the duty to support you.”
Bolat emphasized the potential strength of economic integration between neighboring countries, saying Türkiye is “always ready to share our experience and knowledge in all areas, as well as its production and technological capabilities with our Syrian brothers.”
