The Global Coalition to defeat ISIS said it met with 14 regional vendors during an outreach event near Ash-Shaddadi, south of Hasakah, to register for potential Coalition labor contracts.
The meeting aims to conclude services and infrastructure investment contracts, which help establish stability and economic development in the eastern Euphrates regions.
The meetings were held between October 22 and 24, at the presence of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) consultants and representatives of the Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR), announced OIR Spokesman Colonel Wayne Marotto.
He indicated that the meetings provided an opportunity to contract Syrian companies, which would help establish economic stability.
Marotto told Asharq Al-Awsat that the coalition contacted businesses to register tenders for work contracts for potential projects near Ash-Shaddadi.
The spokesman indicated that such events increase the likelihood of the success of emerging Syrian businesses, “providing financial security and stabilization in the region, allowing the economy to recover and further denying ISIS the chance to resurge.”
The military official pointed out that the number of vendors capable of providing critical services doubled since the last outreach in March 2020.
The Coalition and SDF vetted all the companies that applied to the tender to ensure that proceeds from these contracts are not funding terrorism but instead assist legitimate businesses and provide SDF support.
He indicated that the local businesses will be tasked with providing manpower, and help increase the level of security in the region, which will play an important role in addressing the threat of ISIS and its sleeper cells reemergence.
“The level of security against the threat of ISIS resurgence continues to increase as the region develops its economic strength with locally-vetted vendors providing the workforce.”
Recently, residents of Ash-Shaddadi and several towns of Deir Ezzor's eastern countryside took to the streets demanding better living conditions.
The protesters called for economic projects aimed at helping the residents resume their normal lives. They also demanded compensation for those whose properties were destroyed or damaged during the international military operations against the ISIS militants before it was defeated in the spring of 2019.
