Washington – Details Press
Syrian Finance Minister Mohammad Yusr Barniyeh met with the Director of the Arab Group at the World Bank, Abdulaziz Al-Mulla, and the Executive Director of the Arab Group at the International Monetary Fund, Mohamed Maait, in Washington, on the sidelines of the Spring Meetings.
Barniah expressed his hope that Syria would return to the Arab offices of international financial institutions to better serve its interests. This is a procedural process that will take some time.
He added, “I appreciate the eagerness of the Arab executive directors of the Fund and the Bank to help.”
Earlier, Osman Dayoun, World Bank Vice President for the Middle East and North Africa, confirmed the bank’s readiness to support Syria in the areas of energy and digital technology, which could contribute to alleviating the crisis.
In a related context, the Syrian Finance Minister indicated that his country’s participation in the meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank aims to revive cooperation with international financial institutions, open channels for technical support, and build capacity.
Syrian Finance Minister Mohammad Yusr Barniah wrote a series of posts on his LinkedIn page in which he discussed the results of his meetings in Washington, DC, with officials from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, as well as a number of Arab and foreign officials, describing these meetings and discussions as “very fruitful.”
According to a previous report by Reuters, Syria has not conducted any financial transactions with the Fund in the past 40 years, while the last IMF mission to Syria was in 2017. Late 2009, more than a year before protests erupted against ousted President Bashar al-Assad.
