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Syrian President Opens 62nd Damascus International Fair with Saudi Delegation Leading Ceremony

Fireworks following the announcement of the opening of the 62nd Damascus International Fair (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Fireworks following the announcement of the opening of the 62nd Damascus International Fair (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Syrian President Opens 62nd Damascus International Fair with Saudi Delegation Leading Ceremony

Fireworks following the announcement of the opening of the 62nd Damascus International Fair (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Fireworks following the announcement of the opening of the 62nd Damascus International Fair (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa officially opened the 62nd Damascus International Fair on Wednesday, marking the first edition of the event since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

In his opening remarks, Al-Sharaa reflected on Syria’s tumultuous past, saying: “With the decisive victory achieved by the people of Syria, and with the fall of the former regime, Syria has returned. Her citizens, her heroes, and the heirs of her glory have all returned to rebuild her and to restore the continuity of her history.”

The fair also underscored the depth and significance of Saudi-Syrian relations. The Saudi delegation took a leading role in the opening ceremony, reflecting the Kingdom’s commitment to strengthening economic and investment ties.

Osama Qadi, Senior Adviser to Syria’s Ministry of Economy and Industry, described the delegation’s presence as “a real boost to the reputation of the fair and a remarkable contribution that encourages Arab and foreign investors to enter the Syrian market.”

The Saudi delegation included Deputy Minister of Investment Abdullah Aldubaikhi and Syrian-Saudi Business Council Chairman Mohammed Abu Nayan, alongside prominent Saudi businessmen and investors.

Syrian officials, including Minister of Economy and Industry Mohammed Nidal Al-Shaar, Saudi Ambassador to Damascus Faisal Al-Mujfel, Chairman of the Syrian Investment Authority Talal Al-Hilali, and Director General of the Syrian Development Fund Mohammed Safwat Raslan, welcomed the delegation.

The 62nd Damascus International Fair, held from August 27 to September 5, will feature around 800 companies from Syria and abroad, covering a 95,000-square-meter space at Damascus Exhibition City.

Participating countries include Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, Egypt, Türkiye, Sudan, Belgium, South Africa, Algeria, Libya, Pakistan, Palestine, Abkhazia, Indonesia, North Macedonia, the Philippines, Poland, and the Czech Republic, alongside the European Chamber of Commerce.

Saudi Arabia is serving as Guest of Honor under the theme “Syria Welcomes the World.”

The Kingdom’s presence includes government entities such as the Ministries of Energy and Investment, the Saudi Export Development Authority, the Saudi-Syrian Business Council, and the Saudi Export-Import Bank, along with more than 80 private-sector companies spanning diverse industries.

Qadi stressed the strategic importance of the delegation’s visit, describing it as “extremely important for encouraging Saudi investors, following up on Saudi projects in Syria and their implementation stages, in addition to supporting the Damascus International Fair.”

He pointed to earlier remarks by Mohammed Abu Nayan, who noted that Saudi investments in Syria “have no ceiling” and that the recently signed memorandums of understanding represent only “a drop in the ocean compared to what lies ahead.”

Qadi added that approximately 550 Saudi businessmen are waiting for the opportunity to enter the Syrian market.

The visit follows a series of high-level interactions, including the Syrian-Saudi Investment Forum in Damascus on July 24, which resulted in 47 agreements worth $6.4 billion in strategic and development projects.

Subsequent meetings included Syrian Energy Minister Mohammed Al-Bashir’s visit to Riyadh to meet Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, culminating in a memorandum of understanding to enhance cooperation in the energy sector.

Later in mid-August, Syrian Minister of Economy and Industry Mohammed Nidal Al-Shaar visited the Kingdom to hold further discussions on expanding bilateral economic collaboration.

Mohammed Hamza, Director General of the Syrian General Organization for Fairs and International Markets, described the fair as a “major step in reconnecting Syria with global markets and reestablishing the country as a hub for regional trade and investment.”

He highlighted that the current edition reflects Syria’s renewed openness and willingness to attract both regional and international investors after years of conflict.

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Business

China Says Hopes to Boost Trade Cooperation with US

A street cleaner walks by food delivery riders gather outside restaurants waiting for their online orders, in Beijing, China, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP)
A street cleaner walks by food delivery riders gather outside restaurants waiting for their online orders, in Beijing, China, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP)
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China Says Hopes to Boost Trade Cooperation with US

A street cleaner walks by food delivery riders gather outside restaurants waiting for their online orders, in Beijing, China, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP)
A street cleaner walks by food delivery riders gather outside restaurants waiting for their online orders, in Beijing, China, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP)

China wishes to strengthen economic cooperation with the United States to avoid "vicious competition", commerce minister Wang Wentao told US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, according to a readout released on Friday.

The two met on Thursday on the sidelines of a World Trade Organization (WTO) ministerial conference in Cameroon's capital, less than two months ahead of US President Donald Trump's planned visit to Beijing.

"China is willing to strengthen multilateral and regional economic and trade cooperation with the United States," Wang told Greer, according to a statement by the Beijing's Ministry of Commerce.

The two powers must "properly handle the relationship between competition and cooperation" and "avoid vicious competition," he said.

The world's two largest economies were locked in a bitter trade battle last year before agreeing to a truce in October.

High-level talks in Paris this month between US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng also helped to ease tensions.

Nevertheless, issues including US tariffs, a trade balance in China's favor, and US restrictions on exports of advanced technologies continue to threaten relations.

Wang expressed "grave concerns" on Thursday regarding recently announced US trade investigations signaling the possibility of fresh tariffs.

Washington's trade investigations target 60 economies, including China, and will look into "failures to take action on forced labor" and whether these burden or restrict US commerce.

The White House has said Trump will visit Beijing on May 14-15, with the timing postponed by several weeks as a result of the war in the Middle East.

Business

Dollar Rides Haven Demand as Middle East Talks Ring Hollow

An electronic panel displays US Dollar currency symbol at an exchange office in Podolsk, outside Moscow, Russia, 26 March 2026. (EPA)
An electronic panel displays US Dollar currency symbol at an exchange office in Podolsk, outside Moscow, Russia, 26 March 2026. (EPA)
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Dollar Rides Haven Demand as Middle East Talks Ring Hollow

An electronic panel displays US Dollar currency symbol at an exchange office in Podolsk, outside Moscow, Russia, 26 March 2026. (EPA)
An electronic panel displays US Dollar currency symbol at an exchange office in Podolsk, outside Moscow, Russia, 26 March 2026. (EPA)

The dollar hovered near multi-month peaks on Friday as investors sought safety in the shadow of an intensifying Middle East war and mounting doubts over any path to de-escalation.

Markets were on edge following another rollercoaster week as US President Donald Trump again extended a deadline for striking Iran's energy facilities into April, even as Washington and Tehran offered starkly conflicting accounts of diplomatic progress.

The Pentagon is also looking at sending up to 10,000 additional ground troops to the Middle East, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, doing little to bolster investor hopes ‌of an imminent ‌end to the war.

That kept the dollar bid ‌as ⁠investors flocked to ⁠the safe-haven currency and ramped up expectations of a US rate hike by the year-end, owing to the inflationary pulse from higher-for-longer energy prices.

The yen, on the other hand, was left on the cusp of 160 per dollar and stood at 159.58. The euro was nursing losses and tacked on 0.1% to $1.1540, while sterling was little changed at $1.3339.

"It doesn't look like the conflict will end anytime soon," said Carol Kong, a ⁠currency strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia. "The dollar is king while ‌this conflict lasts."

"If we're right about this ‌conflict being protracted, I think oil prices will just keep rising and it will ‌push the dollar higher, at the expense of net energy importers like the Japanese ‌yen and the euro," she added.

The darkening market mood sent the risk-sensitive Australian dollar down to a two-month trough, though it later rebounded and traded 0.2% higher at $0.6903. The New Zealand dollar languished near its lowest level since January and last stood at $0.5769.

Against a basket ‌of currencies, the dollar was marginally weaker at 99.83, but still on track for a 2.2% rise this month, which would ⁠mark its ⁠biggest gain since July last year.

Investors are now pricing in an over 40% chance of a 25-basis-point rate hike from the Federal Reserve by September, according to CME Fedwatch tool, in a sharp reversal from more than 50 bps worth of easing expected before the war.

The Bank of England and the European Central Bank are also seen tightening policy, with the hawkish sea change in rate expectations hammering bonds and sending yields rising.

"A more prolonged disruption to energy supplies would deliver a larger hit to activity that would meet most definitions of a global recession and prompt a broader monetary tightening cycle," said analysts at Capital Economics in a note.

Yields on US Treasuries edged slightly higher on Friday, following a sharp rise overnight, with the two-year yield at 3.9899%. The benchmark 10-year yield was up about 1 bp to 4.4278%.

Business

Oil Drops as Trump Pauses Iran Strikes, but Stock Traders Nervous

Donald trump said he had pushed back the deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz once again following a request from Tehran. IRIB TV/AFP
Donald trump said he had pushed back the deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz once again following a request from Tehran. IRIB TV/AFP
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Oil Drops as Trump Pauses Iran Strikes, but Stock Traders Nervous

Donald trump said he had pushed back the deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz once again following a request from Tehran. IRIB TV/AFP
Donald trump said he had pushed back the deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz once again following a request from Tehran. IRIB TV/AFP

Oil prices fell Friday after Donald Trump again pushed back a deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, though most equities also dropped as traders shrugged at the news following a series of conflicting messaging from the White House.

The US president had warned last Saturday he would obliterate Iran’s energy sites if it did not unblock the crucial waterway within 48 hours but pushed that back five days citing positive peace talks, which Tehran denied had taken place.

But after days of strikes by both sides and mixed reports of negotiations -- including the trading of multi-point demands -- he announced Thursday that he would again delay the attacks to April 6 after a request from Tehran.

"Talks are ongoing and, despite erroneous statements to the contrary by the Fake News Media, and others, they are going very well," Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.

"As per Iranian Government request... I am pausing the period of Energy Plant destruction by 10 Days to Monday, April 6, 2026, at 8 P.M., Eastern Time," he posted.

Trump had earlier denied he was desperate for a deal to end the war, despite the Iranian republic's cool response to an American peace plan and fears the spike in oil prices would fan inflation, said AFP.

Trump later told a cabinet meeting Iran had allowed 10 oil tankers passage through the Strait of Hormuz -- through which about a fifth of world oil and gas pass -- to show it was serious about talks.

The Iranian news agency Tasnim said the country's response to Washington's 15-point plan to end the war "was officially sent last night through intermediaries, and Iran is awaiting the other side's response".

The report, citing an unnamed official, said officials had called for an end to US-Israeli attacks on Iran and Tehran-backed groups elsewhere in the region.

It also called for war reparations and Iran's "sovereignty" over the Strait of Hormuz be respected.

However, Trump's announcement came as the Wall Street Journal cited Department of Defense officials as saying the Pentagon was considering sending as many as 10,000 extra ground troops to the Middle East.

Oil prices fell more than one percent Friday, though that only partially pared the previous day's surge amid growing anxiety that the conflict will last far longer than first thought.

Brent is up almost 50 percent since the war began on February 28, while West Texas Intermediate has risen around 40 percent.

Equities struggled following hefty losses in Wall Street.

Tokyo and Seoul, which had been the standout performers in the first two months of the year, were among the biggest losers, while Hong Kong, Sydney, Wellington, Taipei Jakarta and Manila were also sharply lower.

Shanghai and Singapore fluctuated.

Investors are also increasingly skeptical about the messaging from the White House, with Trump often flipping between threats and talk of peace.

"A ten-day extension sounds like breathing room, but in market terms, it feels more like a trader rolling a losing position forward, hoping the next candle delivers what the last one refused to give," said SPI Asset Management's Stephen Innes referring to an investors analysis tool.

"Time has been purchased, not clarity. And the market knows the difference."

And National Australia Bank's Ray Attrill said: "Whether peace talks are taking place between the US and Iran remains debatable, Iran insisting that exchanges of letters via a friendly intermediary (presumed to be Pakistan) does not constitute talks."

Meanwhile, the World Trade Organization warned the global trading system was experiencing the "worst disruptions in the past 80 years", while the World Bank said it was prepared to provide immediate financial assistance to emerging market countries.

That came as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development warned US inflation could hit more than four percent this year as a result of the spike in crude prices. That compares with its previous projection of 2.8 percent.

The prospect of another spike in the cost of living led several Federal Reserve officials to express concern about the outlook for the world's top economy and suggested interest rates were unlikely to come down any time soon.

With the economic impact worsening, governments around the world are being forced to act.

Spain approved a sweeping $5.8 billion package including steep cuts to energy taxes, while Poland's prime minister announced a series of measures to address soaring fuel costs, including reduced taxes and price ceilings.

And South Korea said it will roll out a $17 billion "wartime" supplementary budget and expand fuel tax cuts.