Representatives from Türkiye's Treasury and banking sector met with Syrian officials to explore potential cooperation in banking, insurance and public finance as part of broader efforts to support the war-torn nation's reconstruction.
The meetings included officials from Türkiye's Treasury and Finance Ministry, the Banks Association of Türkiye (TBB) and the Participation Banks Association of Türkiye (TKBB), according to a social media post by Syrian Finance Minister Yisr Barnieh and sources familiar with the matter.
The meetings are said to have been held in recent days in Damascus. On the Syrian side, representatives from the Finance and Interior Ministries as well as the Central Bank of Syria attended the talks.
"We reviewed opportunities to benefit from Türkiye's expertise and experience in support of Syria's fiscal reform efforts, especially in enhancing public finance capacity," Barnieh said.
"We also discussed accelerating the provision of correspondent banking services by Turkish banks to Syrian banks and evaluated potential licensing opportunities for Turkish banks, insurers and financial services firms to operate in Syria."
Barnieh added that the two countries agreed to establish joint working committees under their respective finance ministries to follow up on the discussed matters.
The talks also covered Interior Ministry-related topics, particularly Türkiye's potential technical assistance in securing identity documents.
A source familiar with the discussions told Reuters that the meetings were constructive, with positive momentum toward transferring Türkiye's banking sector knowledge and offering various forms of support to Syria.
Prior to the Syrian civil war, Türkiye's largest lender, Ziraat Bank, had been in talks to establish a bank in Syria with a local partner in 2010, but those plans were suspended with the onset of the conflict. Currently, no Turkish banks operate in Syria.
Following the ousting of longtime dictator Bashar Assad in December, Ziraat Bank General Manager Alpaslan Çakar had told Reuters that the bank would be ready to take on responsibility in Syria if conditions allowed.
Broader reconstruction-focused talks are ongoing between Türkiye and the Syrian interim government, particularly in sectors such as energy and infrastructure, as part of efforts to stabilize and rebuild the war-torn country.
