Syria's Economy Will Be Open for Foreign Investment, Foreign Minister Says

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani. (X)
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani. (X)
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Syria's Economy Will Be Open for Foreign Investment, Foreign Minister Says

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani. (X)
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani. (X)

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani said on Wednesday that the country will open its economy to foreign investment and that Damascus is also working on energy and electricity partnerships with Gulf states.
"Syria's economic resources are diverse and we have a lot of sectors - industry, tourism... of course the economy in the future will be open and will open the road for foreign investment," he said at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
Shibani paid separate visits to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in early January, during which he discussed bolstering ties.
At Davos, Shibani said a committee of representatives from various groups would work on the country's new constitution after holding a national dialogue, which Syria's leadership says will include all segments of society to chart a path for the nation after the opposition factions ousted President Bashar al-Assad.
"We need an inclusive transition leading to a new constitution, free and fair elections, in a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political process that will restore Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity," UN Syria envoy Geir Pedersen said at a separate press conference in Damascus on Wednesday.
Both Pedersen and Shibani reiterated calls for ending the international sanctions imposed on Syria.



UN Rights Office: At Least 12 Palestinians Killed in West Bank since Tuesday

An Israeli soldier keeps position during a large-scale Israeli army raid in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank, on January 24, 2025. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)
An Israeli soldier keeps position during a large-scale Israeli army raid in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank, on January 24, 2025. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)
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UN Rights Office: At Least 12 Palestinians Killed in West Bank since Tuesday

An Israeli soldier keeps position during a large-scale Israeli army raid in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank, on January 24, 2025. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)
An Israeli soldier keeps position during a large-scale Israeli army raid in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank, on January 24, 2025. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)

Israeli operations in the West Bank have killed at least 12 Palestinians since Tuesday, the United Nations Human Rights office spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan said on Friday.

"Our office has verified that at least 12 Palestinians have been killed and 40 injured by Israeli security forces since Tuesday, most of them reportedly unarmed," he told a televised briefing.

"We are also concerned by repeated comments from some Israeli officials about plans to expand settlements further still and a fresh breach of international law. We recall again that the transfer by Israel of its own civilian population into territories it occupies also amounts to a war crime."

Hundreds of Jenin residents left their homes on Thursday, prompted by messages from drones fitted with loudspeakers, witnesses said, as the military demolished a number of houses on the third day of a major operation in the West Bank city.
The operation, involving large columns of vehicles backed by helicopters and drones, was launched in the first week of a ceasefire in Gaza that saw the first exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails since a brief truce in November 2023.
Israeli officials said the Jenin operation was aimed at what the military said were Iranian-backed militant groups in the refugee camp adjacent to the city, a major hub for armed Palestinian groups for years.