Over 400 Million Barrels of Emergency Oil Reserves to Flow to Global Markets Soon, IEA Sayshttps://english.aawsat.com/business/5251584-over-400-million-barrels-emergency-oil-reserves-flow-global-markets-soon-iea-says
Over 400 Million Barrels of Emergency Oil Reserves to Flow to Global Markets Soon, IEA Says
A woman holds a fuel pump as she fills her car tank at a gas station in the Manhattan borough of New York City on March 14, 2026. (AFP)
TT
TT
Over 400 Million Barrels of Emergency Oil Reserves to Flow to Global Markets Soon, IEA Says
A woman holds a fuel pump as she fills her car tank at a gas station in the Manhattan borough of New York City on March 14, 2026. (AFP)
Oil from the International Energy Agency emergency reserves will begin flowing to global markets soon, with member countries pledging to make available 411.9 million barrels, the agency said in a statement on Sunday.
Governments have committed to make available 271.7 million barrels of oil from government stocks, 116.6 million barrels from obligated industry stocks and 23.6 million barrels from other sources, the statement said.
It added that 72% of planned releases are in the form of crude oil and 28% are oil products.
Stocks from Asia Oceania countries will be available immediately and stocks from Europe and the Americas will be available at the end of March.
New Syria Defines Its Economic Identity: ‘Partnership’ Replaces Privatization in Recovery Planhttps://english.aawsat.com/business/5280448-new-syria-defines-its-economic-identity-%E2%80%98partnership%E2%80%99-replaces-privatization
28 May 2026, Syria, Jobar: Syrians play in an Eid al-Adha amusement park in a devastated area amid the completely destroyed Jobar neighborhood on the outskirts of Damascus during the second day of the Muslim Feast of Sacrifice, Eid al-Adha. Photo: Moawia Atrash/dpa
New Syria Defines Its Economic Identity: ‘Partnership’ Replaces Privatization in Recovery Plan
28 May 2026, Syria, Jobar: Syrians play in an Eid al-Adha amusement park in a devastated area amid the completely destroyed Jobar neighborhood on the outskirts of Damascus during the second day of the Muslim Feast of Sacrifice, Eid al-Adha. Photo: Moawia Atrash/dpa
Syria has settled the debate over the identity of its new financial and investment system, adopting a model of “strategic partnership” between the public and private sectors as a fundamental alternative to outright privatization. The shift officially elevates the private sector from a marginal supporting role to the “engine of economic development” and the principal partner in leading the recovery and reconstruction phase.
The strategic approach, crowned by the launch of a broad national dialogue in 2026, aims not only to attract domestic and expatriate capital and reconnect local value chains, but also to redefine the state’s role as a regulator and guarantor of a free market. Supported by an international vision focused on sustainability and an unprecedented package of legislative incentives, the strategy seeks to bridge a trust deficit that has persisted for years and build an open social market economy that balances freedom of individual initiative with broader developmental responsibility.
First dialogue after the political transition
Damascus recently concluded the First National Conference for Private Sector Dialogue in Syria 2026, held over three days at the Conference Palace.
The event was the first of its kind in the country since the beginning of the political and economic transition following the fall of the former regime at the end of 2024.
Organized by the Ministry of Economy and Industry in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), with funding and support from the Japanese government, the conference drew nearly 500 economic figures, including ministers, representatives of public institutions, chambers of commerce, industry and agriculture, business councils, experts and businesspeople from inside and outside Syria, as well as international organizations.
According to official Ministry of Economy and Industry materials, the conference aimed to formulate practical visions and recommendations to support the path toward recovery and comprehensive development.
Syria’s new economic vision aligns with UNDP principles that view “economic diversification as a strategic asset.” Under this framework, the Syrian private sector is not regarded as a monolithic bloc but rather as a diverse and resilient ecosystem. Its structure spans several levels, most notably micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, which account for more than 90 percent of Syria’s business landscape and represent the country’s primary reservoir for absorbing the national workforce. It also includes family businesses and craft workshops that preserved productive skills locally throughout years of crisis under severe pressure, as well as agricultural producers and local manufacturers who ensured the continued minimum flow of goods into domestic markets.
Syrian workers load sacks of freekeh, a roasted green wheat grain widely used in Levantine cuisine, after burning and roasting immature wheat over open flames to separate and preserve the grains, on the outskirts of Taftanaz, northwestern Syria, Sunday, May 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
Identity of the new economy
In comments to Asharq Al-Awsat, Osama Kadi, an economic expert and senior adviser for local economic policy affairs at Syria’s Ministry of Economy and Industry, said the conference had “removed ambiguity” regarding the identity of the Syrian economy in the coming phase.
He explained that the country’s economic direction is closest to a guided market economy, or social market economy, similar to those found in Germany, much of Europe and Canada. The private sector, he said, is viewed as the driver of economic development, while the public sector is not destined for privatization, with the government instead pursuing a partnership model with private enterprise.
Kadi added that the economic identity of the new Syria is based on free supply-and-demand mechanisms without monopolistic practices, while emphasizing good governance and the state’s role in monitoring the implementation of laws, ensuring their flexibility and fostering an attractive investment environment through tax rates designed to encourage economic activity.
Investment Law No. 114
Under Investment Law No. 114 of 2025, the Syrian government exempted all agricultural and educational activities from taxation and introduced incentives for industrial production.
Any investment company that exports more than 50 percent of its production receives an 80 percent tax exemption, while the general tax rate does not exceed 15 percent. Production lines and machinery used in manufacturing operations are also exempt from taxes.
Kadi noted that the law’s executive regulations support micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, which make up more than 90 percent of Syria’s businesses, through credit lines, concessional loans, business incubators and accelerators. The regulations also encourage such enterprises to participate in local and international exhibitions through business councils announced during the conference in more than 17 countries.
Mohammad Nidal al-Shaar speaks during the opening of the First National Conference for Private Sector Dialogue in Syria (X).
Balancing private initiative and the role of the state
Speaking at the conference’s opening session, Minister of Economy and Industry Mohammed Nidal al-Shaar said Syria is moving toward building a new economic model that combines realism, ambition and openness.
He said the country is closely examining states that have achieved successful models and rapid development over relatively short periods in order to learn from and adapt those experiences while building its own model based on its capabilities, strategic location and the expertise of Syrians at home and abroad.
Al-Shaar said that “adopting a free-market approach does not mean the absence of the state or the abandonment of market controls. Successful experiences have proven to be based on a balanced model between freedom of initiative and the strategic role of the state.”
He added that “modern economic revival is not built on slogans, but on efficiency, discipline, stability and genuine partnerships, as well as an economy that provides opportunities for initiative, creativity and production within a clear national vision.”
He stressed that the state’s economic role should not be reduced to a debate between public ownership and privatization, nor should privatization be viewed as a stigma, a default option or an automatic solution to economic challenges. The real value of public assets, he said, lies not in their sale price but in their ability to generate sustainable added value for the national economy.
Sectors for strategic partnership
Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Kadi identified agriculture, agro-industry, energy, transport, infrastructure and reconstruction as the key sectors expected to lead public-private cooperation.
He said Syria remains an underdeveloped opportunity, with no more than 5 percent of its human potential, resources and underground wealth having been utilized. He also said Syria's geopolitical position had long been underutilized despite its potential and now contributes more than one-third of the state budget. As an example, he said that 11,800 aircraft crossed Syrian airspace in May alone, generating revenue for the public treasury.
Kadi said the most important element in relations between the public and private sectors is the clarity of the partnership itself, particularly through transparency in contracts and the adoption of environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards.
In this context, he said, the shift toward a green transition and the efficient use of resources should be viewed not as a luxury but as an economic necessity that can reduce long-term operating costs and prepare Syrian products for global markets.
A boy carries balloons as shoppers stroll through the old market in Damascus ahead of the Eid al-Adha holiday on May 26, 2026. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
Institutionalizing partnership
The convening of the private sector dialogue in Damascus for the first time since its launch in 2018 marked a milestone in institutionalizing and localizing the process.
The question now, observers ask, is how far this shift can help bridge the “perception gap” and build mutual trust and accountability between traders and industrialists on one side and government institutions on the other.
Syrian economist Ziad Arabsh said the move contributes to narrowing that gap by transferring discussions from exile to the domestic arena, where industrialists, traders and government officials confront the same challenges, including electricity, raw materials and procurement.
He said trust is strengthened through direct dialogue without international intermediaries, while bringing all stakeholders together in one place creates social pressure to follow through on commitments.
Arabsh added that institutionalization helps bridge perceptions by transforming dialogue from a temporary initiative into a permanent institutional mechanism linked to the Ministry of Economy and UNDP. The conference, he said, also turns discussion from a theoretical exercise into a practical decision-making process.
Since the fall of the former regime, the Syrian government has been working to restore economic growth and attract domestic and foreign capital to participate in rebuilding the economy.
The World Bank estimated in November 2025 that rebuilding Syria would cost about $216 billion, while direct physical damage to infrastructure and residential and non-residential buildings amounted to roughly $108 billion.
Given the caution of foreign investors, experts broadly agree that expatriate Syrian capital and diaspora networks represent the most realistic and fastest source of financing in the near term.
Arabsh said translating policy recommendations into implementation plans with binding timelines requires a clear institutional mechanism. This should include a joint executive committee tasked with converting recommendations into action plans and specific projects, establishing implementation schedules, linking plans to realistic budgets, creating monitoring and evaluation systems, and tying compliance to incentives and penalties.
Without binding deadlines and public accountability, he said, recommendations risk remaining merely words on paper.
Regarding legal guarantees and banking mechanisms designed to encourage expatriate capital to return, Arabsh pointed to the protections contained in Law No. 114, including safeguards for private and industrial property, regulations guaranteeing the transfer of profits in foreign currencies, easier financial transfers from abroad, concessional financing for joint ventures and the activation of leasing finance.
He added that investment incentives include tax exemptions lasting between five and 10 years, industrial land at symbolic prices in industrial cities, and build-operate-transfer partnerships with the public sector that preserve state ownership while allowing efficient private-sector management.
Arabsh also highlighted diaspora initiatives, including European Union and International Fund for Agricultural Development support for members of the Syrian diaspora to strengthen agricultural investment, as well as digital platforms such as “Bunyan Syria” that connect expatriates with reconstruction projects.
“Expatriates need legal certainty, banking liquidity and tangible incentives, not just emotional appeals,” he said.
An international co-financing platform
In concluding remarks, Arabsh stressed the strategic importance of building strong ties with international financial institutions.
He said the prominent involvement of UNDP and the Japanese government provides a trusted international guarantee that could encourage the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and regional development banks to engage with Syria’s emerging economic landscape.
Arabsh argued that UNDP’s strength lies in its ability to create structural integration on two fronts: a local track focused on supporting livelihoods and developing the micro, small and medium-sized enterprise sector, and a strategic track aimed at improving the national business environment.
He concluded that the most urgent priority today is to transform the dialogue into a “co-financing platform” capable of bringing together public resources, donor funding and private capital within a single productive framework, ensuring that the diverse capacities of the private sector evolve from a tool of resilience and survival into a genuine driver of sustainable economic revival.
Russian Economy Minister to Asharq Al-Awsat: Russia is a Reliable Partner for Saudi Arabiahttps://english.aawsat.com/business/5280427-russian-economy-minister-asharq-al-awsat-russia-reliable-partner-saudi-arabia
Russian Economy Minister to Asharq Al-Awsat: Russia is a Reliable Partner for Saudi Arabia
Russia’s Minister of Economic Development, Maxim Reshetnikov, during a session at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF)
Russia’s Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov affirmed his country’s satisfaction with the level of development in its strategic relations with Saudi Arabia, explaining that the Kingdom’s participation as the guest of honor at the 29th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum this year reflects a high level of dialogue and a shared interest in expanding cooperation across all fields.
He noted that this partnership has acquired broader and deeper dimensions within the framework of Vision 2030.
The Kremlin had announced the Kingdom’s selection as the principal guest of honor for this year’s forum, coinciding with the 100th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman is leading a Saudi delegation that includes a number of senior officials and representatives of national institutions and major companies, foremost among them Saudi Aramco.
Reshetnikov told Asharq Al-Awsat on the sidelines of Russia’s leading economic forum, often described as the Russian Davos, that relations between the two countries have developed actively in recent years. He revealed a qualitative leap in bilateral trade indicators, with trade volume more than doubling over the past five years. He added that investment cooperation continues to expand and expressed the expectation that the conclusion of an upcoming intergovernmental agreement on the promotion and protection of mutual investments will provide a strong additional boost for investors in both countries.
Members of the Saudi delegation at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).
Coordination Beyond Oil
Reshetnikov said that joint coordination to ensure the stability of global energy supplies represents a central pillar of the bilateral agenda, pointing to the significant international success achieved by the two countries through their leadership of the OPEC+ alliance.
In a related context, Reshetnikov stressed that Russia was a reliable partner in ensuring the Kingdom’s food security, supplying agricultural and food products including wheat, barley, sunflower oil, and poultry. He also pointed to new opportunities for expanding cooperation, revealing that ambitious plans are being studied to establish joint agricultural centers and advanced logistics corridors within the Kingdom in the coming period.
He noted that, within the framework of Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia is actively developing industry and infrastructure, areas in which Russian expertise can be utilized. At the same time, technological and industrial cooperation is becoming increasingly important.
Reshetnikov added that the two sides are working to expand cooperation in advanced technologies, including digitalization, artificial intelligence, smart-city solutions, cybersecurity, and water desalination technologies.
He also expressed his country’s full readiness to participate in the development of Saudi Arabia’s space program, drawing on Russia’s extensive expertise in astronaut training, space biology, and medicine.
Major Tourism Boom
Addressing tourism, the Russian minister described the sector as one of the most promising areas of growth and cooperation between the two countries. Total tourist traffic increased by 38 percent last year, reaching a level ten times higher than that recorded in 2019.
He pointed to the entry into force of a mutual visa-waiver regime for citizens of both countries on May 11, 2026, following the signing of a landmark agreement, as well as the resumption of direct flights by Saudia and flynas. He said he expects interest in travel between the two countries to increase further.
The minister highlighted achievements in developing tourism-sector cooperation, noting that 2025 alone saw more than 143,000 Saudi tourists visit Russia, an increase of 33 percent compared with the previous year.
In the same context, the Russian minister emphasized that his country is working intensively to broaden the scope of tourism exchanges, building on agreements concluded at the highest levels of leadership to establish a solid foundation for the growth of this vital sector.
Reshetnikov said that every effort is being made to ensure that Russia’s domestic tourism sector meets the expectations of Saudi visitors by providing an ideal travel environment suited to their needs and culture.
To achieve this goal and ensure the comfort of visitors from the Kingdom, the minister explained that Russia is rapidly expanding the application of halal standards and Muslim-friendly services across its hospitality sector.
He revealed that the first hotels in Moscow, Sochi, and Kazan have obtained the necessary official certifications, while more than 100 additional hotel establishments have submitted similar applications, which are currently under review.
Significant Improvement in Infrastructure
Reshetnikov outlined the ambitious features of Russia’s tourism infrastructure, noting that it has undergone a profound transformation over the past decade through the construction of modern airports and roads, as well as the redevelopment of city centers and public spaces to create an attractive environment for major investors and entrepreneurs alike.
Russia today has accommodation capacity exceeding one million hotel rooms, in addition to 400 ski resorts featuring more than 500 classified slopes with a combined length exceeding 1,000 kilometers. The country also boasts extensive southern coastlines stretching nearly 2,000 kilometers.
Looking ahead, the Russian minister announced a strategic plan to build 11 coastal resorts and a new year-round marina by 2030. These major projects will be distributed across the shores of five seas, in addition to the area surrounding the renowned Lake Baikal, with a target capacity of 10 million visitors annually.
Reshetnikov extended an open invitation to the Saudi business community to invest in these promising destinations, emphasizing that investors in these projects will benefit from distinguished preferential treatment and describing them as a truly excellent opportunity.
Participants walk past a large screen showing an image of Russian President Vladimir Putin during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in St. Petersburg, Russia, 03 June 2026. EPA/ANATOLY MALTSEV
A Resilient Economy in the Face of Sanctions
Assessing the performance of the Russian economy, Reshetnikov noted that the International Monetary Fund recently raised its forecast for Russia’s economic growth in 2026 to 1.1 percent, based on higher oil prices. He described this as a positive indicator, particularly given the IMF’s cautious assessment of Russia.
He added that investors do not look solely at GDP growth. They also assess the sustainability of macroeconomic policy, the budget position, debt levels, projects with clear profitability and strategic value, and an acceptable level of risk.
The minister said that Russia’s public debt is among the lowest in the G20, standing at around 17 percent of GDP. Over the past three years alone, including 2025, Russia’s GDP has grown by more than 10 percent in real terms.
He argued that this represents annual growth of approximately 3.3 percent, above the global average, allowing Russia to maintain its position as the world’s fourth-largest economy on a purchasing power parity basis.
Reshetnikov stressed the importance of these indicators in demonstrating the attractiveness of the Russian market for foreign investment in general and Arab investment in particular.
He said Russia was an attractive long-term investment destination for Arab investors, particularly in agriculture and fertilizer production, infrastructure, digital technologies, and industrial solutions. These sectors are aligned with the priorities of Gulf countries, including asset diversification and the development of new industries.
He also emphasized the resilience of the Russian economy in the face of external challenges, saying that in recent years the Russian economy has demonstrated its ability to adapt to pressure and maintain positive momentum despite sanctions, the restructuring of logistics chains, and restricted access to Western capital. At the same time, the infrastructure underpinning cooperation remains a key issue, including settlements in national currencies, correspondent banking relations, logistics, and investment protection.
South Korea's KEPCO Wins Saudi Jafurah Power Projecthttps://english.aawsat.com/business/5280403-south-koreas-kepco-wins-saudi-jafurah-power-project
South Korea's KEPCO Wins Saudi Jafurah Power Project
The Jafura field (Aramco)
Korea Electric Power Corp (KEPCO) said it had won a contract to build and operate the second phase of a cogeneration power plant at Saudi Arabia's Jafurah project.
The company expects total revenue of about 2.1 trillion won ($1.4 billion) from the project.
KEPCO said in a statement it signed the power and steam sales agreements with Saudi Aramco for the project and completed a construction contract with Doosan Enerbility.
The plant will have power generation capacity of 331 megawatts and produce about 465 metric tons of steam per hour. It is scheduled to be built by June 2029, after which it will supply power and steam for 17 years, KEPCO said.
KEPCO said the project is an expansion of the 317-MW first phase of the Jafurah cogeneration plant, which it won through an international tender in 2022 and expects to complete by the end of June.
لم تشترك بعد
انشئ حساباً خاصاً بك لتحصل على أخبار مخصصة لك ولتتمتع بخاصية حفظ المقالات وتتلقى نشراتنا البريدية المتنوعة
