The question that everyone will want to ask about Syria is
this: do recent economic reforms amount to a new dawn? I, for one,
think that they do. This last year has seen a very important change
of mood and direction with the arrival on the scene of the new
young president, Dr Bashar Al-Assad. While there may be some in
Syria for whom change is unwelcome and to be resisted, there can be
no doubt of the president's commitment to modernize and reform
every aspect of his country or of his eagerness to attract foreign
investment and technological know-how.
Syria is in an exciting period of transition - from one generation
to another, from one economic model to another, from a closed
system to an open one. The Association Agreement, which Syria is
negotiating with the European Union, aims at a free trade area by
the end of the...
