Syria will return to the “Swift” system within weeks

The Financial Times quoted the governor of the Central Bank of Syria, Abdel Qader Hasad, as saying that Syria will be linked again to the Swift system for international payments “within weeks” after sanctions for more than 10 years.

In an interview with the newspaper in Damascus, he presented an exclusive road map to restructure the financial system and monetary policy in the country “in order to rebuild the exhausted economy”, as he hopes to restore foreign investment, remove obstacles to trade, normalize currency, and reform the banking sector.

“We aim to enhance the country’s image as a financial center, given the foreign direct investment expected to reconstruction and infrastructure, and this is very important,” exclusive told the Financial Times.

He continued: “While great progress has been made, there is still a lot of work in the future.”

He pointed out that “the return of the Swift regime will contribute to encouraging foreign trade, reducing import costs, and facilitating exports, as it will bring the foreign currency that is intensified to the country, enhance the efforts to combat money laundering, and reduce dependence on informal financial networks in border trade.”

He added: “The plan is that all foreign trade will take place now through the official banking sector, which cancels the role of the cashants who receive a commission of 40 cents on every dollar that enters Syria.”

He explained that banks and the central bank were granted Swift symbols, and that “the remaining step is the resumption of correspondence banks to address transfers.”

He added that “foreign investment will also support through guarantees.”