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  • Politics
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  • Syrian economy

LOUAI BESHARA / AFP
Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP
A worker pushes a hand truck past a shop selling spices at the old market in Damascus ahead of the Eid al-Adha holiday on 26 May 2026. LOUAI BESHARA / AFP

Syria’s private-sector workers are finding their voice

Recent strikes show how workers are beginning to use Syria's expanded civic space to make economic and social demands. The government should see this as a warning, but also an opportunity.

Haid Haid 24 June 2026
Eduardo Ramon

The return of Al-Jazira and the question of Syria’s economic renewal

As Raqqa, Deir ez-Zor, and Al-Hasakah return to state authority, this resource-rich region re-emerges as a cornerstone of economic recovery

Hussein al-Sharaa 06 February 2026
Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa (L) speaks during the Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference in Riyadh on 29 October 2025. RANIA SANJAR / AFP

Syria's obstacles to investment are many

Ambition is key to recovery, but so is realism about the road ahead. Lingering sanctions, legal ambiguity, poor transparency, and weak institutions continue to deter serious investment.

Haid Haid 20 November 2025
A sheep herder near the Rumaylan military site in northeastern Syria, January 8, 2025 AFP

Resource-rich yet underdeveloped, Syria’s northeast could pay dividends

The land between the Euphrates and Tigris yields oil, water, and wheat, to name but three, yet it has had no infrastructure investment for decades. As a result, it is unproductive. That could change.

Attiya Khalaf Al-Attiya 11 February 2025
Stacks of Syrian pound banknotes are piled on a currency trader's stall at a market in the city of Manbij, currently controlled by the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army, in the Aleppo province on January 4, 2025. Aaref WATAD / AFP

Sanctions relief alone won’t kickstart Syria's economy

Without a coordinated international effort to lift sanctions, Syria will struggle to secure foreign investment

Léa Eid 10 February 2025
A US dollar note is placed on a stack of Syrian pounds at a market in the Kurdish-majority city of Qamishli in northeast Syria on September 10, 2019. AFP / Delil SOULEIMAN

Rebuilding Syria's economy will be challenging but comes with reward

Estimates of reconstruction costs range up to $500bn, and most Syrians only get a few hours of electricity per day. The country's priorities are numerous and urgent, but amid the gloom, there is hope.

Abdelkader Hasria 27 January 2025
Dr Maysa Sabrin, Syria's newly-appointed central bank governor Axel Rangel Garcia

Syria becomes first Arab state with woman central bank chief

Maysa Sabrin joins illustrious figures such as Russia's Elvira Nabiullina, Europe's Christine Lagarde, and America's Janet Yellen, proving women heading central banks is no longer a rarity

Toufic Chanbour 16 January 2025
A container crane at the port of Latakia in western Syria on 30 December 2024. Aaref Watad / AFP

Syria’s new rulers to audit Iran loan spending for illegalities

While financial obligations outlive regimes, Damascus may be able to show that some of the $7.6bn in loans from Tehran was spent repressing the Syrian people—and that Iran knew about it

Joseph Daher 31 December 2024
A man looks out to the devastation while clearing rubble and debris from a house at the Yarmouk camp for Palestinian refugees south of Damascus on December 22, 2024. MUHAMMAD HAJ KADOUR / AFP

Syria begins to piece together a country and economy in ruins

War caused its GDP to fall by 86%, leaving 69% of Syrians impoverished. Regime change brings hope for an economy once one of the Middle East's strongest. This is its story and a look ahead.

Abdulfattah Khattab 24 December 2024
Syrian Red Crescent rescuers attend to displaced people arriving from Lebanon at the Jdeidat Yabus border crossing in southwestern Syria on October 7, 2024. LOUAI BESHARA / AFP

War in Lebanon puts Syria's already struggling economy under further strain

Syria's deep economic reliance on Lebanon, shaped by years of conflict and international sanctions, has made regime-held areas particularly vulnerable to Lebanon's economic and political instability

Haid Haid 13 October 2024
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Stefano Summo
Politics

Can the Houthis be defeated?

15, Oct 2026

In this week's cover story, Al Majalla examines the military balance of power on the ground, the networks through which the Houthis obtain weapons, and the foreign support they receive

Al Majalla - London
Turkish Navy's UH-60 Black Hawk (naval/S-70B variant) with T129 ATAK participate in a ceremonial parade during the Denizkurdu-I/2026 Exercise in the Eastern Mediterranean, off the coast of Aksaz, in Mugla, on 24 September 2026. ADEM ALTAN / AFP
Politics

Regional crises and tensions: the view from Ankara

20, Oct 2026

From its growing defensive support for Saudi Arabia to its escalating tensions with Israel and Azerbaijan, Türkiye has much to navigate

Omer Onhon
The Egyptian Air Force aerobatics team "Silver Stars" performs during the second international air show and aerospace expo at El Alamein International Airport in El Alamein, Egypt, on 9 September 2026. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
Politics

Cairo pledges to back Riyadh in its fight with the Houthis

19, Oct 2026

Their defence ties date back decades, so it is no surprise Egypt is standing by Saudi Arabia at a critical time for both countries

Amr Emam
Sara Padovan
Politics

Student protests test France's Republican promise

18, Oct 2026

Education reform is at the heart of the demonstrations shaking Paris and beyond, with thousands already arrested, but the government's ability to meet learners' demands is limited

Elie Kossaifi
Helena Perez Garcia
Profiles

Ms. Rachel, Gaza, and the power of education

13, Oct 2026

As YouTube star Accurso's influence grew, she transitioned from educator to child advocate. But it only became 'controversial' when she spoke up for Palestinian kids

Hala Al-Naji

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