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Saudi Arabia Signs 56 Agreements to Prevent Double Taxation

Saudi Arabia is seeking to expand agreements with other countries to avoid double taxation. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Arabia is seeking to expand agreements with other countries to avoid double taxation. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia Signs 56 Agreements to Prevent Double Taxation

Saudi Arabia is seeking to expand agreements with other countries to avoid double taxation. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Arabia is seeking to expand agreements with other countries to avoid double taxation. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

In line with Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia is seeking to strengthen its international presence by attracting foreign capital for investment, obtaining tax exemptions for government investments, and exchanging customs information.

Asharq Al-Awsat obtained a copy of a recent report issued by the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority which showed that the Kingdom has taken great steps to enhance international cooperation in matters related to customs regulations, including the signing of 56 double taxation avoidance agreements until the end of 2021.

Moreover, Saudi Arabia concluded two agreements for cooperation and mutual assistance in customs matters, and seven other customs cooperation agreements.

Agreements on the Double Taxation Avoidance with Gabon, Switzerland and Latvia entered into force in February, April and July of 2021, respectively, to facilitate cross-border investment and trade.

In March 2021, Saudi Arabia signed an agreement to avoid double taxation with Iraq and Taiwan.

According to the report, the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority also forged two agreements on cooperation and mutual assistance in customs matters with Azerbaijan and Singapore.

Saudi Arabia was able to maintain its membership in the Customs Policies Committee and the Finance Committee of the World Customs Organization (WCO), after agreeing with the countries of the North Africa, Near East, and Middle East region in the 56th regional coordination meeting, which was held recently at the headquarters of the WCO in Brussels.

The Customs Policy Committee is concerned with drawing up the organization’s policies by submitting its recommendations to the Council.

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IMF Appoints First Mission Chief to Syria in 14 Years

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) police officer directs delegates as people arrive to the building during the World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) headquarters in Washington, Tuesday, April 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
An International Monetary Fund (IMF) police officer directs delegates as people arrive to the building during the World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) headquarters in Washington, Tuesday, April 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
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IMF Appoints First Mission Chief to Syria in 14 Years

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) police officer directs delegates as people arrive to the building during the World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) headquarters in Washington, Tuesday, April 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
An International Monetary Fund (IMF) police officer directs delegates as people arrive to the building during the World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) headquarters in Washington, Tuesday, April 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

The International Monetary Fund has appointed Ron van Rooden as head of its mission to Syria, Syria's Finance Minister Mohammed Yosr Bernieh said in a written statement, making him the first country mission chief since war erupted there 14 years ago.
Bernieh said van Rooden's appointment came "following our request" and he shared a post on LinkedIn, showing himself shaking hands with van Rooden while attending the annual IMF-World Bank Spring meetings in Washington, D.C.
"This important appointment marks an important step and paves the way for constructive dialogue between the IMF and Syria, with the shared objective of advancing Syria's economic recovery and improving the well-being of the Syrian people," Bernieh wrote, according to Reuters.
The IMF press office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A source familiar with the IMF's decisions on Syria confirmed van Rooden's appointment.
According to the IMF's website, Syria has had no transactions with the fund in the last 40 years. The last IMF mission trip to Syria was in late 2009, more than a year before protests against then-leader Bashar al-Assad erupted.
Assad's crackdown triggered a full-scale war that left much of the country destroyed before he was ousted in a lightning offensive by the opposition last December.
The new leaders have been keen to re-establish Syria's ties regionally and internationally, rebuild the country and secure the lifting of tough US sanctions to kickstart its economy.
Bernieh and Syria's central bank chief Abdelkader Husrieh are attending the annual spring meetings in Washington, the first time a high-level Syrian government team attends the meetings in at least two decades, and the first official visit by Syria's new authorities to the US since Assad's fall.
On Tuesday, the Saudi finance minister and the World Bank co-hosted a roundtable on Syria. Bernieh, in a separate LinkedIn post, described the roundtable as "very successful" and said there was "unprecedented" interest in supporting Syria's reconstruction.
A top official from the United Nations Development Program told Reuters last week the agency is planning to deliver $1.3 billion in support to Syria over the next three years.