Syria will start swapping old banknotes for new ones from Jan. 1, 2026, its central bank chief said on Thursday, as Damascus tries to relaunch its economy after emerging from the rule of longtime dictator Bashar Assad last year.
Syria's new government, led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa, is seeking to rebuild state institutions and revive the economy after more than a decade of war, sanctions and financial isolation that left the local currency severely weakened.
"The central bank has been given authority to decide the deadline for the swap and its locations," Abdelkader Husrieh, the governor of the central bank, adding the monetary authority would issue instructions.
Improving the standing of the Syrian pound is among the greatest challenges for new authorities, who had said they would remove two zeros and print new banknotes to try to restore public confidence after Assad was ousted.
"The new Syrian currency is a symbol of our financial sovereignty after the liberation," Husrieh said, and "a firm step toward stability and economic recovery."
Some bankers have voiced fears the new currency could drive up inflation and further erode the purchasing power of Syrians reeling from high prices, but Husrieh said the operation will take place through a smooth and orderly swap.
He added that a press conference will be held on Dec. 27 to "explain all the details of the replacement process and deadlines."
Assad fled Syria in December 2024 for Russia after opposition forces seized Damascus following an eight-day blitz through the country, ending six decades of his family's autocratic rule, more than 13 years after an uprising had spiraled into civil war.
Syria marked earlier this month the first anniversary of the overthrow of Assad with jubilant celebrations in major cities.
Since the start of the civil war in 2011, the pound has plunged from 50 to about 10,000-11,000 against the U.S. dollar, and Syrians are forced to carry huge wads of banknotes even for basic needs like grocery shopping.
Husrieh said the move to replace the currency comes at a "pivotal national juncture that reflects the beginning of a new economic and monetary era."
The United States this month announced its permanent lifting of the so-called Caesar sanctions, paving the way for the return of investments to Syria after years of economic isolation.
In August, Husrieh said his country would change its currency by removing two zeros, adding that the move "will not impact the currency's value."
He said the new banknotes would simply replace the old ones, avoiding further inflation in a country battered by soaring prices since the war, with the central bank intending to print six new denominations of notes.
