Arab News | Syria seeks to expand $493m in World Bank grants

RIYADH: Syria is seeking to build on $493 million in World Bank grants already received to support electricity, healthcare, and water, as well as education, public finances and the financial sector.

Finance Minister Mohammed Barnieh discussed the funding with officials from the World Bank, Arab Monetary Fund and Citigroup on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group annual meetings in Bangkok, the Syrian Arab News Agency reported.

The World Bank talks focused on implementing existing grants and potentially widening their scope to support Syria’s development and reconstruction.  

World Bank operations in Syria were halted after the conflict began in 2011, but engagement resumed following the country’s political transition, with Saudi Arabia and Qatar paying the country’s $15.5 million in arrears to the International Development Association in May 2025.

“Syria has received $493 million in IDA grants covering electricity, health, water, the financial sector, public finance and education, the ministry said,” SANA’s report stated.

Import financing and capital markets

Barnieh’s meeting with Arab Monetary Fund Director General and Chairman Fahad bin Mohammed Al-Turki addressed Syria’s outstanding obligations and the possible resumption of the Arab Trade Financing Program.

The two sides also discussed potential credit facilities for the Finance Ministry and the Central Bank to fund government imports, as well as accelerating Syria’s connection to the Arab regional payments platform.

The latest discussions build on talks held in early 2025, when the AMF identified five areas in which it could assist Syria and later considered the settlement of arrears and support for institutional capacity.

Separately, Barnieh met a Citigroup delegation to discuss developing Syrian capital markets, creating a market for bonds and other debt instruments, and advancing financial reforms. No transactions or implementation timetable were announced.

Syria’s return to international financial channels has also been supported by sanctions relief. The US revoked its comprehensive Syria sanctions framework effective July 1, 2025, although targeted restrictions remain.

World Bank relations restored

After Syria’s eligibility for new World Bank operations was restored in 2025 after 14 years of non-engagement, the institution approved a $146 million electricity grant, its first project in the country in almost four decades.

“This project represents the first step in a planned increase in World Bank support to Syria on its path to recovery and development,” World Bank Middle East Division Director Jean-Christophe Carret said at the time.

Support has since expanded to include $225 million for water and healthcare, $20 million for public financial management and a $100 million financial-sector modernization program.

The World Bank said the financial-sector project would modernize payment infrastructure, strengthen the Central Bank of Syria’s operational capacity and support reviews of public and private banks.