This comes a month after they announced their commitment to settle Syria’s outstanding arrears of $15m (around QAR 55m) to the World Bank.
Qatar and Saudi Arabia have agreed to jointly fund salaries for public sector employees in Syria for three months as part of wider efforts to support the country’s economic recovery following the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime.
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, announced the new initiative on Saturday during a press conference with his Syrian counterpart, Asaad Al-Shaibani, in Damascus.
“The Kingdom, in partnership with the State of Qatar, will provide joint financial support to public sector workers in Syria,” the Saudi official told the press, without disclosing the total funding.
Syria’s Minister of Finance, Mohammed Barnieh, separately expressed his appreciation for the Qatari-Saudi initiative. This comes a month after they announced their commitment to settle Syria’s outstanding arrears of $15m (around QAR 55m) to the World Bank.
“We also appreciate the support of Saudi Arabia and Qatar in helping to develop relations with regional and international financial institutions and enhance the contribution of these institutions and organizations to supporting development in Syria,” Barnieh told Syria’s state news agency (SANA).
The lifting of Assad-era sanctions by the West, including the United States and European Union, has paved the way for international financial support for Syria’s economic recovery.
Global engagement with Syria has also increased since the fall of the Assad regime last December.
On May 13, U.S. President Donald Trump met his Syrian counterpart, Ahmed Al-Sharaa, in Riyadh, marking the first such meeting between the two countries’ leaders in 25 years.
Qatar’s support for Syria
Qatar has maintained its position against the former Assad regime for its brutal crimes against Syrians. The Gulf state had severed ties with the regime in response to its crackdown on peaceful protests in 2011 that plunged the country into a deadly war.
Qatar was also the first to establish a diplomatic mission for the Syrian opposition in its capital, Doha.
The Gulf state then re-opened its embassy in Damascus last December for the first time in 13 years and sent a high-level Qatari delegation led by its Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mohammed Al-Khulaifi, on December 23, 2024.
A technical aviation team from Doha accompanied the Qatari delegation to assess the readiness of the Damascus Airport to resume its operations, which was accomplished on January 7, when Qatar Airways became the first flight to land at the facility.
In January, Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani became the first Arab leader to visit Syria since the ouster of Assad. This followed a visit by President Al-Sharaa to Doha in April.
In a recent development, Qatar-based UCC Holding signed a memorandum of understanding with the Syrian government on Thursday to develop major power generation projects worth $7bn (around QAR 25.5bn).
