People walk through the Kurdish-run al-Hol camp, which houses relatives of suspected Islamic State (IS) fighters, in Syria’s northeastern Hasakeh governorate, on April 18, 2025, as the Syrian Democratic Forces carry out a security campaign against IS “sleeper cells” in the camp. (Credit: Delil Souleiman / AFP)
A U.N. official told AFP on Saturday that Syria must begin its economic recovery process without waiting for Western sanctions — imposed under Bashar al-Assad — to be lifted.
The new Syrian government is seeking the removal of international sanctions, which remain a major obstacle to rebuilding an economy devastated by 14 years of civil war. However, some countries, including the United States, are waiting to see if the new authorities will uphold human rights, among other conditions.
“Waiting for sanctions to be lifted leads nowhere,” said Abdallah Al Dardari, head of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in an interview with AFP during a visit to Damascus. “We must face the challenge posed by sanctions while launching the economic recovery process,” he added.
According to Dardari, recovery must follow three steps: “projects that directly impact residents,” the provision of services by “civil society,” especially in education, and “rapid improvement of public services.” “People must quickly feel improvements — especially in such a difficult period,” he stressed. He believes that “with a clear vision and well-defined priorities, once sanctions are lifted, funding will flow into Syria.”
In a report published in February, the UNDP estimated that at the current rate of growth, Syria — where the war has erased decades of development — will not return to its 2010 economic level before 2080, urging investment to speed up recovery. The urgency is especially great, the report noted, as nine out of ten Syrians now live in poverty, one in four is unemployed, and GDP is less than half its pre-war value.
“Syria’s economy should have reached an annual GDP of around $125 billion by 2025, compared to $62 billion in 2010. Today, it doesn’t exceed $30 billion,” Dardari said Saturday.
The Human Development Index — which measures life expectancy, education, and standard of living — has fallen below 1990 levels, when it was first recorded in Syria. According to the report, the Syrian economy has lost an estimated $800 billion in cumulative GDP since 2010.
A U.N. official told AFP on Saturday that Syria must begin its economic recovery process without waiting for Western sanctions — imposed under Bashar al-Assad — to be lifted.The new Syrian government is seeking the removal of international sanctions, which remain a major obstacle to rebuilding an economy devastated by 14 years of civil war. However, some countries, including the United States, are waiting to see if the new authorities will uphold human rights, among other conditions.“Waiting for sanctions to be lifted leads nowhere,” said Abdallah Al Dardari, head of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in an interview with AFP during a visit to Damascus. “We must face the challenge posed by sanctions while launching the economic recovery process,” he added.According to Dardari, recovery must follow...
