Syria has attracted about $28 billion in investments over the past 10 months, President Ahmed al-Sharaa said Wednesday at the Future Investment Initiative (FII) in Riyadh.
Speaking during a session attended by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, al-Sharaa said Syria’s investment laws had been amended to allow foreign investors to transfer funds out of the country.
“The opportunity in Syria is enormous, and there’s room for everyone in Syria,” al-Sharaa said, seeking to reassure potential investors at the event.
The country has begun the monumental task of rebuilding its shattered economy after more than a decade of war that left tens of thousands dead, millions displaced and entire cities in ruins.
For decades, Syria struggled to attract significant foreign investment due to multiple layers of sanctions targeting its former government. Earlier this month, the World Bank estimated the cost of rebuilding Syria at a “conservative best estimate” of $216 billion.
Since the overthrow of Bashar Assad last year, Saudi Arabia has moved to strengthen ties with Damascus’s new leadership as part of a broader push to draw the country, long dominated by Iran and Russia, closer to the Arab fold.
In May, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman convinced U.S. President Donald Trump to pledge to lift sanctions on Syria. The crown prince also arranged a landmark meeting between Trump and al-Sharaa, a former jihadist who spent five years in U.S. custody in Iraq.
Saudi Arabia has used its vast oil wealth to support reconstruction efforts. In July, the kingdom signed $6.4 billion in investment and partnership deals with Syria, while in April, it joined Qatar in pledging $15 million to settle part of Syria’s debt to the World Bank.
