Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa said his country has gone from being a security and political “problem” troubling the region to an economic and strategic opportunity that could contribute to the security of supply chains, energy and trade between East and West.
Speaking at the Arab Media Summit in Dubai on Tuesday, al-Sharaa projected Syria’s economy would reach about $50 billion this year, up from roughly $20 billion in 2024.
He acknowledged that the economic transition requires “shock” decisions, in what appeared to be an implicit reference to measures such as fuel price increases that have triggered protests in several Syrian regions in recent days.
He stressed that his government did not want to pursue a “policy of complaints or promises,” but instead focus on work, with success measured by results felt by Syrians.
Syria is moving away from an economic model marked by heavy bureaucracy, state dominance and corruption toward one giving greater scope to the private sector and investment, he explained.
A sudden transition, however, could cause “a kind of shock”, he added.
The government had studied the experiences of countries that underwent similar transformations and managing the transition required a degree of gradualism alongside decisions that could sometimes be “shocking”, he warned.
Syria’s economy stood at about $60 billion at its prewar peak in 2010 before falling to around $20 billion in 2024. It grew to roughly $32 billion in 2025 and is expected to reach about $50 billion in 2026, before recovering to around its 2010 level in 2027.
Al-Sharaa said ambitions extended beyond a return to prewar levels, with economic programs targeting the possibility of expanding the economy to about $200 billion over the following five to 10 years, provided stability prevailed and the region and world avoided major upheaval.
Regional risks
Regional risks remain among Syria’s biggest challenges, according to al-Sharaa.
The country faces a “heavy legacy resulting from 60 years of destruction and 14 years of continuous war,” he remarked, adding that ending Syria's conflict was not enough to ensure lasting stability without greater regional and strategic security.
“What frightens us most is that wars expand further and further,” he said.
Damascus is working with Arab countries to reduce the impact of wars and mitigate future risks, he added, stressing that Syria could play a pivotal role in strengthening regional stability.
He said the country was undergoing a broad transition involving the rebuilding of state institutions, economic transformation, attracting investment and rehabilitating infrastructure, alongside efforts to consolidate domestic stability and restore its place in its Arab and regional surroundings.
Al-Sharaa described Syria as having gone from “a source of Captagon and human trafficking, and a foothold for spreading conflicts and problems in the region” to a country seeking to become “an area of stability.”
He pointed to growing discussions of its potential role in regional trade, supply-chain and energy security, as well as its position on routes linking East and West.
‘Syria is not a follower’
Turning to foreign policy, al-Sharaa stressed that Damascus sought relations based on “credibility and trust” while preserving the independence of its decision-making.
“Syria does not need to be a follower of any party,” he declared, adding that the country had the civilization, expertise and human resources to make independent decisions while drawing strength from “its brothers and its surroundings.”
Moreover, he stressed that Syria cannot do without its Arab and Islamic surroundings, and relies heavily on Arab states for political support and to benefit from their expertise and development experience.
The country does not want “to start from the zero where these countries began, but from the 100 they have reached,” he revealed.
On international sanctions, he noted that Syria had been among the world’s most heavily sanctioned countries for decades, with the impact extending beyond state institutions to society and the economy.
Generations of Syrians had been unable to engage normally with financial transactions, bank guarantees and the global financial system because of the country’s prolonged isolation, he continued.
He further praised efforts by Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with US President Donald Trump over sanctions, describing their lifting as a historic turning point for his country.
“I believe Syria was born again after the sanctions were lifted,” al-Sharaa said, adding that the main restrictions had been broken and responsibility now lay in adopting the right “policies, procedures and choices” to move the economy and the state forward.
