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Skip Navigation LinksHome :: Back Issues :: A commitment to change

July 2001

A commitment to change


In March 2000, following Syria’s first major cabinet reshuffle for more than a decade, Mohamed Mustafa Mero was appointed as prime minister, replacing Mahmoud Zuabi, who had held the post since 1987. Previously the governor of Aleppo, Mero is widely recognized as being fully committed to economic reform in Syria. Last month in Damascus, he spoke to Euromoney about the outlook for the reform process




       
Aleppo: once a station on the silk route
from Europe to Asia it may become
a new trade hub
What do you see as the main reasons for international companies to consider investing in Syria?
Syria has a number of very important competitive advantages. First of all we have very strong historical, economic, political and cultural links with Europe in general and with the UK in particular. It is our intention to further promote and advance those links.
Additionally, Syria has a long history of civilization and many attractions in terms of historical monuments and treasures. It is also a country that has traditionally been a meeting point for many cultures and civilizations. Because of its geographical position Syria has always acted as a bridge or an entrepôt for foreign trade and as an important meeting point with links to the north, south, east and west. Aleppo in particular was the most important station on the silk route from Europe to the Far East. Damascus was the most important point on the route from Constantinople to Aden, a route that includes Mecca and is referred to in the Holy Quran. In the winter traders would go south to Yemen and in the summer they would go north to Syria because of the change of climate. And from Damascus they would travel onwards to Turkey and central Europe and to the furthest reaches of northern Europe.
We believe that modern Syria should continue to fulfil its role as a crossroads for road, rail, air and sea routes linking north, south, east and west. We are well equipped to play this role because Syria has a very well developed infrastructure in terms of transportation facilities and communications and all the other essentials that make the country an ideal hub for businesses active throughout the region. Additionally, energy in Syria is cheap and plentiful, which is another important attraction for overseas investors.
How much of an asset is the Syrian workforce?
Syria has an affordable labour force that is skilled and well educated. This is a direct result of the free, compulsory and universal education that was developed under the late president Assad. We have skilled and educated specialists in all fields of industry be it in the more traditional manufacturing sectors, services such as tourism or the more advanced technological industries.
Syria can also offer a security situation that is unique in as much as we have very little crime. People can feel secure wherever they are and at whatever time of day or night. This is an extremely stable society that is very much at peace with itself, in which a woman can walk the streets in the middle of the night without fear of having her jewellery stolen.
How much political will is there to ensure that economic reform pushes ahead, and what rules and regulations have been put in place to encourage investment and protect the rights of private-sector investors?
We have a new president who has made it absolutely clear that he is intent on reform, intent on modernizing the country, and intent on introducing new laws and regulations, and new economic policies that will help investors and all other visitors to Syria.
       
Mustafa Mero
The new government has introduced laws that facilitate and encourage foreign investment and give special advantages in terms of tax and other incentives that are specific to Syria and make it an attractive destination for investment. We have a legal system with law courts that are fair in their judgments, which are well distributed throughout the country and which are willing and able to decide on any kind of industrial dispute. And we can also offer abundant supplies of cheap raw materials that are useful for industrial production.
Manufacturing industries as well as tourism and agriculture are being modernized, rationalized and strengthened by the reform programme that is now under way. We are seeing a complete restructuring of the economy, and part of that restructuring involves reducing the levels of taxes on investors and introducing important incentives such as tax holidays. The objective of these policies is to make Syria an effective and efficient gateway that will link Europe with the rest of the Arab world.
But it is important to emphasize that Syria does not intend just to take, but also to give at the same time. Syria is a friendly country and I am certain that all visitors coming here will be impressed by the warmth and the hospitality of the Syrian people and will feel at home in the country. There is social cohesion here, as well as tolerance and respect for all faiths, and a good example of that is how in the streets of Damascus you will have noticed the way in which the chiming of church bells is in harmony with the Muslim call to prayer.
Would you like to comment on the potentially destabilizing influences that are still at work in the region? What needs to be done on a more regional basis to make the Arab world more favourable for investment?
Syria is committed to the path of peaceful settlement and justice. We have taken a strategic and consistent decision to work with other Arab countries towards a just and lasting peace in the region and we will continue to do so at forthcoming summit conferences. But I would add that there are tensions in many parts of the world, not just in this region. Jerusalem has been a source of tension and conflict throughout history but this hasn't prevented civilizations and economies from developing throughout the ages. So I don't see this as being an impediment to the development of Arab economies.
But Syria is also looking to Europe to play an active role in helping to bring about a just and lasting peace in the region, and to deter Israel from continuing its threatening approach to Syria and Lebanon.
What about your relationship with the US? Do you find it frustrating that the US appears to have been very slow to recognize the changes that have come about in Syria in recent years?
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