Switzerland said on Friday it will lift a raft of economic sanctions imposed on Syria, including the Middle Eastern country's central bank.
Bern, Switzerland © Mena Today
Switzerland said on Friday it will lift a raft of economic sanctions imposed on Syria, including the Middle Eastern country's central bank.
After the toppling of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, targeted sanctions against individuals and entities linked to the former government will still remain in place, Switzerland's governing Federal Council said.
"The aim of this decision is to promote the country's economic recovery and an inclusive and peaceful political transition," the council said in a statement.
After an initial easing of sanctions in March, Switzerland is now lifting restrictions on the provision of certain financial services, trade in precious metals and the export of luxury goods, the government said.
Some 24 entities including the central bank of Syria have also been removed from the sanctions list, it added.
The announcement follows the EU's decision to lift its economic sanctions on Syria at the end of May after a similar move by the U.S. Treasury Department in the same month.
Reporting by Marleen Kaesebier
Syria this week carried out its first international bank transfer via the SWIFT international payment system since the outbreak of the country’s 14-year civil war, central bank governor Abdelkader Husriyeh said on Thursday, a milestone in Syria’s push to reintegrate into the global financial system.
U.S. forces have pulled out of two more bases in northeastern Syria, visiting Reuters reporters found, accelerating a troop drawdown that the commander of U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish forces said was allowing a resurgence of Islamic State.
Iraq has officially reopened the Qaim border crossing with Syria for trade and passenger traffic, a spokesman for the Iraqi border authority said on Saturday, marking a key step in efforts to normalise relations and revive economic ties between the two countries.
To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.